Untitled
by Yomi
Summary: [REVISING] It all began when Illumi was seen dressed up as a woman in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are other complications involved politics, family relations and some soul searching. Chpt 9 revised
1. Chapter 1

**C H A P T E R O N E**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

"Arcadia Central is a bustling, prosperous, rich city, almost comparable to Yorkshin City," Killua read aloud for his friend Gon from the brochure that he had off-handedly picked up in the hotel lobby on their way out to the bustling market square, "with its fair share of six star hotels, looming sky scrapers and massive shopping malls large enough to house a herd of elephants ten times over. Arcadia Central is the capital of Arcadia, a country recently torn by war. It is now undergoing a rapid modernization and reconstruction program. Arcadia has survived three invasions from its three fronts by three age-old enemies. Through ten years of devastating total war, the country, under the leadership of Emperor Rodimostev Alanis Kalinnan III, destroyed its adversaries and annexed the land of these three countries into what is now today known as Greater Arcadia. It has became a new country large enough and with enough potential for foreign affairs experts to claim that it is a sleeping giant that has been aroused, and the world will soon tremble at its might." 

The young assassin flicked through the rest of the dry text, his eyes scanning the small glossy coloured photos of the palace where the Emperor currently resided. It was an old piece of architecture in the sea of modernity and technology. Other photos were of picturesque country sides to visit and small villages on the outskirts of cities rebuilding itself after the devastation of the Decade long war. 

Having finished with the brochure, Killua handed it over for Gon to have look, who declined and would prefer to experience the country for himself. Their last trail for the search for Gin ended in Arcadia, and although it was yet another futile pursuit, travelling to different lands was all part of the journey and fun. 

One of the most persuasive reasons for staying was their attraction to the colourful crowd milling around the many setup stores in the Central Square. They'd just come in time for a special festival for banners were raised into the air along with small flags; large tents were erected; the summer sun and the heat irresistibly pulled you outdoors and the festive mood was undeniable. There was a tangy flavour of celebration in the air, followed by the impulse of strong, almost reckless, consumerism. Merchants sold unique and fine handcrafts, beaded jewelry, modern constructs of art to place around the house, and more candy Killua had ever seen before! Gon on the other hand was too taken by the streamers, the sounds, the smells, but unfortunately, both were also equally aware of the tall and looming figure which had tailed them for days. For all the fancy distractions, there was a problem that could not, and would not, be ignored. 

Exasperated beyond tolerance, Killua whirled around to face Hisoka "I've had it!" he growled at the man who had that nonchalant, everyday aimless smile hung on those thin lips. The tall clown shrugged dramatically, trying to look cute and vulnerable, albeit innocent in the process as well. 

"What?" he whinnied, pouting his lips, the only person in the world to think that it was a coquettish gesture. 

_Definitely not cute! _Gon and Killua sweat-dropped, shivered and thought at the same time. 

To make his annoyance clear, Killua emphasized each word with rage and frustration. "Why are you following us?" 

But Hisoka was true to his usual form and impervious to the children's anger, just as he was never entangled by his environment and in control of the world around him. It was an everlasting reminder to the world that he was never affected, never to be pushed around by circumstance. _He_ was the magician, the master puppeteer who pulled all the strings of hapless mortals bound by fate, the intangible forces of influence that he had long freed himself of. 

His eyes glinted at the kids with mock malice, only angering the young assassin even more. He responded with the airs of an adult, belittling and patronizing, knowing full well how he could get the white haired boy so riled up. That was the starkest and barest contrast between Killua and his older brother. It did not take much to cause steam to shoot from the albino child's ears and set his hair on fire with his own anger and frustration. As with Illumi however…well…you could probably arouse his anger only if you went as far as to stop him from completing his missions. 

"Do you have a problem with me exercising my right to walk in the streets and pick up chicks?" he challenged, and to demonstrate his (false) intentions, he stuck his hand into the crowd surging past him and plucked a hapless woman who was busily rushing past. He pulled her into a suffocating embrace whilst the sea of people continued to flow around him. Few merchants and customers however, tainted with curiosity, ceased their haggling and bargaining to inconspicuously turn around and look on at what was happening. 

The unfortunate female struggling in Hisoka's grasp was donned in a fashionable pastel purple suit with a light jacket and a short skirt, demonstrating fine, long, pale and slender legs on dangerously high stilettos. Her hair was a luminous black, flowed like brocade of shimmering satin which cascaded down her back and swung to and fro as the struggles became more intense. Her perfume was light and enchanting, being the trade mark of those expensive designer brands that boasted it could lure a man from fifty meters. 

Briefly closing his eyes, Hisoka held the apparently exquisite creature even tighter, burying her head in the crook of his neck whilst he breathed in the fragrance and let the hair slip through his fingers. The perfume was mingled with another oddly enticing scent. It suddenly sent a jolt through him and set his adrenaline racing. His eyes twinkled gold, and in a fraction of a second, he had the compulsive urge to devour and destroy the person tightly snuggled in his arms. 

Gon gulped when he saw Hisoka's expression, remembering distinctly where he had last seen it – the terrible night in the forest during the Hunter Exam where all the animals made a mad dash for their lives as they instinctively felt the dangerousness of the most lethal predator. He knew Killua had become uneasy as he saw the way his muscles were tightening and contracting, unsure whether to run for the next horizon in an act of self preservation or to help the innocent bystander. 

"Umm…" Gon began, quite lost himself at what to do. He really couldn't face Hisoka directly front on, especially in the crowded market square. It would wreak havoc and chaos, cause destruction, give the psychopath an excuse to slaughter the innocent, and worst, he and Killua would probably get told off by the police. 

"Hisoka," a strangely familiar, calm and quiet voice began "if you treasure your head, then you'll cease your sexual harassment against me." 

Hisoka's face betrayed dramatic surprise. He held the woman at arm's length and gave a hard stare into the stunning oval face, past the professionally applied makeup, imagined the hair down without the fancy accessories and almost balked in shock. 

"Illu! What sort of job requires you to dress up like this?!" 

Killua gaped at the feminine figure."Big brother?!". 

"Remove your hands." Illumi repeated, his eyes glued to Hisoka's rather defiant and challenging ones. 

"Oh, I don't know." Hisoka began, pulling the professional assassin into his embrace again. "You're kind of….soft and hugable." 

**===== _a cloud of dust and sounds of punching and kicking later_ ======**

"Illu…you're too cruel!" Hisoka croaked, raising his beaten and bruised face from the ground. His hand shakily reached out to touch the fine ankle, and inappropriately began to stroke the leg. 

**===== _painful sounds of kicking and stomping later_ ====**

Killua gulped with eyes widened by shock at the cripple and battered body of Hisoka laying crumpled on the ground after Illumi's assault. "Strangely, I almost feel….sorry…for him." Gon dumbly nodded beside him, his expression was one of utter disbelief at Hisoka's total defeat. 

Illumi gave the magician a stony stare. "My client strangely doesn't require me to kill. I have to win an item via a beauty contest, and I'm on my way to rehearsal." 

"Ha ha..." Killua half-heatedly laughed. The shock of seeing his brother in drag was beginning to fade and it made him a bit bolder. "How much do you get paid for doing this?" 

His brother turned abruptly to face him, attitude entirely cold and profession. "Ten digits. It's slightly less than my usual jobs, but I don't have to do as much and there's not as much danger, so I think I'm getting a good deal." 

"Does dad know you do these other jobs?" 

"Dad doesn't need to know what other jobs I do." 

"If they're paying you ten digits for the item, why don't you just take it for yourself and sell it for more?" Hisoka remarked, busily dusting his shirt and pants. 

"Apparently, the item is of great sentimental value only. And I'm not a reckless thief - I have a steady income, and I would like to keep it that way. Now if you'll excuse me." With that, Illumi pushed Hisoka aside and abruptly stalked away, leaving the three of them had to admire the ease with which he walked in those shoes. 

"You think your brother can win Killua?" Gon asked, not exactly sure what a beauty contest was - not being too sure what was considered beautiful either. He knew he had disputes with Killua about things which tasted good – Killua could have chocolate frogs as dinner and squirm with delight all the way through whilst the idea alone made Gon sick. If you could have differing opinions about the taste of food, could you also have differing opinions as to what constitutes beauty? 

"Hell yeah." Hisoka muttered, his gaze trailing after the distant figure whilst his finger delicately traced along his bruised jaw. "I wonder what kind of contest this is. For someone to pay ten billion just to win the prize, there must be pretty tough competition."   
  
  
  


*** * * ***

  
  
  


After five minutes of questioning the friendly locals, with Hisoka being unusually placid and co-operative, their search for an answer to the beauty contest took them to the newly constructed museum displaying the culture, history and tradition of the old imperial Kalinnan family - a dynasty which has spanned over twelve generations already. The museum porter, a portly and jolly old man, was well informed about the capital's events, and he led them to the section in the building concerning the ladies of the court. 

"Women have never played much of a role in politics. Rather, princesses were usually married off to neighbouring countries to establish economic ties and alliances. An Arcadian princess usually knew no life other than that of serving their husbands, entertaining their husbands and bearing children for their husbands. A pretty miserable life really, entrenched in tradition and preserved over the centuries." 

The jolly porter stopped beside the stunning portrait of a sixteenth century woman, dressed in the traditional Arcadian garb with an elaborate headset attached to a mane of fine, lustrous black hair. 

"As you can see however, the Arcadian princess's fame was in their beauty. The royal Kalinnan line and the minor blood relatives interbred to keep the pale skin, the large eyes and that amazing hair in the family. It was almost a symbol of royalty to possess such features. The most prized possession of the princess was her hair. The thicker and longer the hair, the more lustrous and shiny, the more silken - it gradually became the ultimate symbol of perfection." 

The museum porter allowed Killua and Gon lean forward to look at a real eighteenth century headset through the thick glass display box. Compared to the portrait, this headset was more concerned with the finer touches on the gold carvings, and the elaborateness of how it desired the hair to be attached. It preferred the tiny sparkles of crystals than the precious stones painted in the massive portrait. The porter politely coughed and returned to his well versed history lecture. 

"The tradition of Arcadian princesses however, has died. There is only one person left with true and pure Kalinnan blood and that is the Emperor." 

Hisoka had been disinterested, bordering on moody ever since they entered the museum. The musty old clothes, preciously preserved as cultural artifacts, were one of the last things to stir his insatiable hunger for appeal and attraction. "Why is that?" he asked, unable to stand the brooding silence around him anymore. 

"Because Emperor Rodimostev executed the last Arcadian princess along with her whole family. She was the sister of the original heir to the throne – Prince Talien – about late last year, after the war had ended, Emperor Rodimostev had them all put to death. In fact, the war had either killed off most of the Kalinnan family, or the Emperor had them executed for capitulating, surrendering and or working with the enemy." The porter sighed wearily, his voice affected by a note of tiredness. 

"We were all pretty certain that the Kalinnan dynasty was over the day war began. You have no idea to what extent the incompetence, despotism and corruption had eaten away in the bureaucracy under the late Rodimostev II. We had expected the war to completely destroy not only the dynasty itself, but every trace and residue of the foul sovereignty. Skipping the gory and bloody details, Emperor Rodimostev III cleansed and purged the family, and decided that they were all unworthy to remain after the sins and crimes that they had committed." 

"What a bloody murderer…" Killua muttered, wondering what his father would think of such a ruthless demonstration of power. He could not dwell on the thought for long as his mind became fascinated by the embroidery of a phoenix on the main dress of the formal garb. 

"So how does this relate to the beauty contest?" Gon asked, skipping alongside the porter so that he could get a rare glimpse of a vest sewn together by pearls the size of his fingernail. 

"The criteria is to revive the Arcadian princess. The contest is held by one of the remaining closest relatives of Emperor - the Palace Guardian - whose line has served the entire dynasty as the personal bodyguard to the Kalinnan Emperor. They are a traditional family, and the Emperor is a traditionalist too, to a certain degree, so they probably wanted to revive some of the older, less menacing and morbid memories of the past." 

"What is the prize for winning?" Gon continued. The porter laughed aloud at the naïve question. 

"Why, international fame and coverage for one. This is considered a major event, and would be broadcast in about eight other major countries. There are two main sections - contestants are first required to perform the traditional court dances, and the second half is to imitate an Arcadian princess at an Emperor's Coronation celebration." 

"Sounds pretty pointless…." Hisoka's mutterings continued. 

"It is a popular reaction in the aftermath of a devastating war," the porter was perhaps slightly offended by Hisoka's unsympathetic attitude to their country's history and plight. "A country needs to find something to hold onto before we charge into the new future with no guidance and concept about 'who' we are to become as a people. Do we follow international trends – give up our traditional cuisine and fashion, mannerism and language in favour of the new so that we are seen as modern? Or do we cling onto a past which in some respects is barbaric and oppressive? We're at the turning point of history where we try to make our culture and tradition in step with modernity. Alas, I rant, forgive me. The actual prize is not determined; there is a selection of a replica of a nineteenth century headset, worth about five million jenis, an ornate diamond jewelry box or a contract to an overseas movie industry to choose from for the winner." 

Killua's eyes narrowed in thought. "Have you heard any rumors about anyone desperately seeking one of these items and willing to pay a high price for it perhaps?" 

"Ah….so it's been said that General Kamus has a representative in the competition. It has also been rumored that he spent a large sum to pay someone who has a definite chance of winning." 

Killua's cat ears pricked up with that enlightening piece of information. "When does the contest start?" 

"Oh, it has already begun. In fact, the elimination periods are over, and tomorrow night is the finals. It will be spectacular, but I think we all know who will win. Miss Arammi just stands out from the rest of them. How can she _not _win?" 

They had already walked a full circle around the museum and seen most of the boxes on display. Killua realized that they were near the entrance of the building again. 

"Well, this is the end of the tour. You should all tune in tomorrow night, because then you might actually see some replications of the designs of the garments and headsets you just saw displayed in the showcases…and oh…watch out for those dances. You haven't seen grace and elegance until you've seen Miss Arammi twirl those fans and spin those silks!" 

"Thank you porter-san! It was a really interesting tour, really!" Gon beamed, halfway down the steps of the museum outside. The old man grinned and raised his hat, bidding them a good-day. 


	2. Chapter 2

**C H A P T E R T W O**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

  
  


Hisoka stared in disbelief at the two boys happily licking ice-cream in front of him. Their short legs swung merrily and bumped against the public bench, and they sure made no intention of removing themselves any time soon. 

"That's your twenty sixth cone," Hisoka said steadily, "Lets get moving. I want to find out why that jewelry box is so important." 

Killua licked off some ice cream that had melted and dribbled down the cone and onto his fingers. "General Kamus could easily afford the replica headset, and he sure wouldn't need that contract. I wonder why he is willing to pay ten billion for the box." 

"Well, you brother _did _say it was for sentimental reasons." Gon said slowly, meticulously wiping his hands free of that sticky ice-cream that had also run onto his fingers. Killua lightly knuckle rapped him on the head, mouthing the word 'baka'. 

"That's exactly what they all say to prevent you from running away with it and selling it yourself." He leaned back and gazed up at the clear blue sky, touched by reminiscence. "But my brother's a real professional, so he doesn't really care what the box is for. It's always '_do as your client tells you to do Killua_.'" He mocked, mimicking that empty tone Illumi used when he gave his lectures. Strangely, the ethereal quality of hollowness in his brother's voice seemed to an even more everlasting impression on his mind. 

"Killua, we _are_ assuming that Arammi-san is your brother's false name." 

"Of course!" Hisoka butted in. "It even _rhymes_ with his name. Illu can't lose." 

Killua nodded. "I'll have to agree with you on that one, and I speak from personal experience. You have no idea how many times men have tried to pick up big bro back when he used to take me with him on his easier missions." Killua chuckled, then added, "And women always glared at him for no reason." 

Gon joined in the laughter. "Do you think Mito-san would also glare at your brother?" 

"I don't know Gon. I'm not too concerned about this whole thing though. Illumi's always got his jobs to do, and I never really pry. Besides, he's just getting an artifact for someone who's got too much money on his hands, so what's the big deal?" the young assassin shrugged. 

"It's just that…your brother seemed a bit…..distant this morning day." Gon muttered, starring at the ground.   


Killua snorted. "Che…he hasn't been anything _but_ distant his whole life." 

"But," Gon continued to protest, "he didn't even give me a dirty look! It was like I was just invisible to him. Me, the kid who led you astray and turned you into a rebel who went against each and everyone of his mother's wishes." 

"You shouldn't worry about Illumi, Gon. To him, it's probably not profitable to spare you any thought, especially since dad probably told him to back off about trying to get me home as well. Anyway," Killua took a deep breath and jumped to his feet and stretched luxuriously, "he would say to himself: I could do more jobs without having to chase after them….._unlike some idiot clown who can't seem to find anything to do!_" Killua broke off, glaring at Hisoka with his hands on his hips. Hisoka took no note, the intensification of a strange uneasiness, which had been nagging on the edge of his consciousness ever since he stepped inside that museum, had finally becoming too uncomfortable to dismiss. 

"There it is again…" he murmured, his shuddering clear for all to see. "Can't you boys feel it? There seems to be….nen….everywhere. It was especially strong in the museum…" 

Killua became suspicious of Hisoka's words and hidden motives. "How are we supposed to feel? Right now, it feels like a good, sunny day." You could never let your guard down around the magician, even if he was purportedly on your side. He could well be lying just so he could pull some sort of reaction out of you for his sick satisfaction. 

Hisoka wrapped his lean and muscular arms around him, shivering violently as if he were struck by the arctic winds. His eyes were glazed and he feverishly muttered something under his breath. 

"It's a gradually oppressive feeling. You don't notice it at first, but it accumulates until the pressure just builds up against you, leaving you cold and naked, vulnerable and…alone" he trailed off. Hisoka squinted hard and breathed loudly whilst his clawed fingers etched fine lines of red down his pale arms. His face was beaded with sweat. "What a miserable feeling…it's so depressing that it makes me sick." 

The magician managed to stand up straight, exerting all his control to keep his shakings and shudders to a bare minimum (although failing) and tried to clear away the multiple visions. He turned around and began to walk away with his shoulder's drooped, back slightly hunched and arms hanging lifelessly by his side. His mind had already forgotten that the boys were even there. "I need to lie down." 

Following the diminishing sound of Hisoka's footsteps, Gon and Killua finally dared to breathe again and looked at each other, puzzled. 

"That was freaky." The assassin commented, easing back onto the seat again. Gon's look was one of concern and curiosity. His primal instincts told him that Hisoka didn't seem to be lying, but then and again, he lost his match to Hisoka at the Celestial Towers because of the magician's deceitful trickery which he took at face value as truth. Either how, Gon made up in his mind that Hisoka wouldn't put on this sort of act just to get their attention – he was certainly…_creative_…enough to think of other ways to do that, hence his concern. 

"Why didn't we feel it Killua?" 

"I for one and not going to believe him," his friend declared in defiance, "Nen is a personal power that has to be emitted. I don't think it can be 'everywhere' as he puts it." 

"Hey, what do we have here? Two kids sitting around talking like they have an absolute knowledge and understanding of nen." a cheerful and good-humored voice rumbled behind them. Gon startled and Killua froze. 

_When did he sneak up on us? _both glanced at each other, communicating the same thought. 

_I'll handle this Killua_, Gon nodded at his friend with large eyes conveying the message and he slowly turned around. 

He saw a man of about fifty, tall, well built with an impressive broad chest, beaming them a friendly smile. His hair was thick and black, gelled back to reveal a high forehead. However, stark strands of premature white hair also stood out, particularly at the sides. His eyes were the colour of coal - warm and reassuring. His posture was unthreatening and the aura around him was steady and without malice. 

Gon laughed and rubbed the back of his head, the classic approach of an innocent and naïve boy. "Actually sir, we know only as much as the basics of nen and hatsu." 

"You must be an expert at nen and eavesdropping then jii-san?" Killua just couldn't help adding with one eyebrow raised. 

The man held up his hands in apology. "Just nearby when I caught onto your interesting conversation laddie, no need to become so agitated!" He grinned patronizingly, "And aren't kids supposed to be polite and trusting of adults?" 

"No," Killua flatly replied, "kids are supposed to avoid strangers and not talk to them," he put extra emphasis on the last four words and then sniffed in disdain. "Like a jii-san would know what we're talking about anyway." 

The man took no offence and actually shuffled them further down the bench so that he could sit beside them. His mere sense of presence alone hushed up Killua's insolent tone. For a moment, Killua felt that he was within the proximity of his father – an authoritative and demanding figure who put up with no crap or silliness and was strictly business. Had it not been for the man's unwavering placid features and fatherly smile, Killua would have automatically adopted his defensive stance and flared his nen in warning. 

"I'm not an expert on nen young man, but I've been around long enough to know that nen dominates a large part of Arcadian history. It is rumored that the first nen users originated from Arcadia from the various mystic cults and shamans in ancestral times. In the Forbidden Palace, there is rumored to be a hidden room with a device that stores up the nen emitted by people through the eons and then turns it into a power to protect Arcadia. I don't know whether this device exists, but right now, nen is flowing all around you, like vapors curling around your ankles, tickling your face like a small wind. It is especially strong since we are in the Capital and so close to the Forbidden Palace." 

"So why did the nen spook my friend out?" 

A sad smile touched the man's lips. His eyes dimmed with sadness and longing. His sigh sounded very much like the one the museum porter gave only hours ago when he was recounting Arcadia's history. "There are those who say that nen is the will of the dead - that when nen-users die, they expel their nen from their bodies and leave their mark on this world. Frequent sightings of ghosts, especially around the Palace, are probably the random manifestations of the nen left behind, shaped by the last will of the dead. Of course, the Palace has had its fair share of brutal stories, hidden murders, treachery and deceit. Not everyone is a happy ghost." 

"Then…how come we don't feel it?" Gon looked puzzled. 

The older man leaned back on the bench and sighed again, eyes focused on a point very far away. "In my entire life, I have only felt it once. I don't know whether I was deluded or on the verge of death, but I saw many dead people, once great people, defending the Palace during the most desperate period of the war when the capital itself was under threat. I certainly didn't have enough troops to destroy the sixteen divisions ringed around this city, but I'm alive. The old texts in the Palace Library say that some people are more intuned with nen, and some are especially sensitive to it. The museum for one, would be flooding with torrents of nen - " 

Killua clicked his fingers as he understood the general direction of what the man was trying to get at, "Because of the old artifacts!" 

"Yes. All those clothes and jewelry, those portraits and paintings – they are all tainted with the nen of their former masters. The Emperor is the only person I know who can actually take this nen around us and use it. I have not seen anyone sensitive enough to actually feel the pressure around him" He frowned, "What is your friend's name?" 

"Hisoka." Killua said quickly as if that were a mere passing thought and didn't matter. He was however becoming interested with Hisoka's peculiar condition. "So why did he feel all sick and depressed? Was that to do directly with the will of the nen?" 

"I can't say for sure, but we've just been through a war, and many good and honourable people perished, and their grieving relatives soon after…the Capital is an unhappy place." 

Gon stared deep and hard at the man who had a twisted and bitter smile on his face, and the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place. 

"You're the Palace Guardian! The one the porter was talking about!" he cried out excitedly. The man blinked at the suggestion, and after an awkward moment's silence gave a deep laugh of clear and unfettered amusement. 

"No boy, I'm not the Palace Guardian and don't let him catch you calling me that! I am one of the Emperor's ten generals - Kamus Kalinnan Kastro." 

Both boys sucked in their breath. 

"You're the one who hired by brother!" 


	3. Chapter 3

**C H A P T E R T H R E E**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

"Your who?" General Kamus frowned at the sudden abrupt change in topic. Killua carried a big grin on his cheeky face; it was his turn to sigh piteously and explain the incredible piece of information to the man who had to be the General. He reminded Killua of his dad on many levels – particularly the impression that he left on you as that of a man not to be trifled with. From the surface alone, you could tell that the man's powers were complex and incalculable and if you had any sense of caution, you'd back away, very slowly. 

"My brother. You hired my brother to win back the jewelry box for you." 

It delighted Killua to see Kamus' frown deepen in confusion. "I do not deny that I did indeed hire someone to join the competition and win back the object. However, I hired Miss Arammi who - " 

"Yeah, that's Killua's brother, Illumi. See, the name rhymes." Gon felt pleased with his explanation. 

Kamus' eyes narrowed at the child dressed in green sitting next to him whose eyes were brimming with honest sincerity and his body language just shouted earnestness. That only heightened his incredulity and suspicion for what the silver haired child had said could be true. He had just come from the Arena where another General – Misha – had spontaneously decided to hold some tournament and spill some blood onto the sands. Having failed in his endeavour to persuade the madman to find something more constructive and less violent to do, he was on his way back home when two kids, showing signs of the ability to control nen, were talking about Arcadia Central's unique situation. 

By using gyo, he was astounded to find that the children's auras were liquid smooth like a bucket of cream, steady and controlled. Children with nen were not particularly uncommon, but children with nen adjusted to combat were rare indeed. Caught up by curiosity, he approached them and took up their conversation. 

One of them was polite, the other cocky and arrogant. _Country boy and city kid_, Kamus thought, keeping the amusement from his face. The kid dressed in green instantly broadcasted the fact that he was the reinforcement type – the rigid sitting position, the manners that he had shown, the unmistakable honesty and sincerity in his words – it was something that henka liars could not imitate. The _other_ boy however, the one who looked at him with disdain, had a weaker aura which flickered around the edges. There was something about his eyes – a complexity which was breathtaking. Kamus was sure he saw layer upon layer of depth, trying to cover what was truly underneath the cheeky attitude. He instantly felt distaste – Henka people – always hiding something, too intelligent for their own good. 

Kamus switched tactics – he decided to go for the one who couldn't think about his words before he said them. With a patient smile on his face, he ruffled the kid's spiky black hair. "Just because the name rhymes does not mean that I hired this young lad's brother." 

"But of course you did General." Gon continued. "We bumped into him earlier this morning. He said he was on his way to rehearsal and he beat up Hisoka on the way as well!" 

"Ah, you jest with me! Miss Arammi is the prettiest lass alive; everyone says she's going to win. How can she be a man?" Kamus silently congratulated himself with his patented patronizing tone and laugh, guaranteed to irk anything and anyone within hearing range. How people hated to be treated like ignorant fools, but it was one way of demanding proof without having to ask for it. 

To his disappointment, the silver haired child did not rise to the bait and smiled evenly in return. _Smart kid_ Kamus thought dourly to himself. He really was getting old – here he was, in the middle of the streets, sitting on a public bench arguing with two kids about whether one of the most gorgeous woman alive was actually a man or not. For god's sakes, how does this child think he's going to be able to persuade him into believing that Miss Arammi was his 'brother' if they didn't even share the same hair colour? 

"We could give you a description of him, but you'd just say that would be insufficient evidence since almost everyone who's in Arcadia Central has probably seen his face on tv. How about…the next time you see him, tell him that you've spoken to _Killua_, and that his adorable widdle _baby brother _has spilled his secrets and see if he has any reaction. Or, you address him as Illumi and see whether he responds or not." Killua laughed out loud at the thought, kicking his feet into the air. "Did he actually say to you he was a girl?" 

"Actually, I was the one who immediately presumed, and still assume, her to be a woman when I first saw her in the crowds. But no, the thought of actually asking her to confirm her gender never crossed my mind…and she never offered to tell. She just said that she had absolute confidence in winning." 

Killua's grin displayed two rows of white teeth. "You needn't worry about that. Illumi will win with no problem. I just can't wait to see his face once I've busted his cover. Maybe I'll actually see an expression for once!" 

The General now looked doubtful and hesitant. However, he gave a slight nod – _why not? The worst case scenario is that these two boys are head over heels for Miss Arammi and just want an autograph and a picture taken with her_. "I'll be meeting Miss Arammi for her payment outside Kastro Court – which is one of the residential extensions attached to the Forbidden Palace walls. You can't miss it – I'm living in the biggest one. The Finals will be over by ten o'clock tomorrow night…Arammi will probably take half an hour to get there, so it'll be ten thirty tomorrow night then." 

Kamus heaved himself off the bench and chuckled. "Be seeing you later kids. Say…what were you names again?" 

Gon pointed to himself, "I'm Gon, and my friend's name is Killua." 

The General nodded, smile never wavering and he made a small departing gesture as he headed off home. The way that the straight-forward kid called Gon had emphatically maintained that Arammi was a man still troubled him. Reinforcers don't lie, can't lie. Perhaps he _should_ be a little doubtful. After all, Arammi was just a stranger that he'd picked off the street. The probability that her words can't be trusted was equal to the probability that he could trust the children's words. 

Gon watched Kamus walk away in the direction of the busy Market Square until he finally disappeared from view. The man seemed friendly and talkative enough, but did he really need to know what Illumi chose to conceal? 

"You sure you want to bust your brother? He might get angry and think up some really unpleasant ways to deal with us." 

Killua grinned, showing two pointy fangs. "Not if we hang around that man. With him around, I don't think that my brother and Hisoka teamed together could get us." He leapt up from his bench, fully energized and ready to finish scouring the stores in the Market Square. 

"Hey Killua." 

"Yes?" 

Gon jumped from his bench too, following him back down the road. "I want to see these ghost and nen-manifestathingies that Kamus-san was talking about!" 

"Eww, gross! Why would you want to see dirty things like that?" Killua stopped walking to stare in utter amazement at his friend. After detecting the glint of over-enthusiasm in Gon's aura, he sighed and continued walking, his arms and head drooping, knowing that there was no way of persuading Gon to give up the crazy idea. 

"Why not Killua!" Gon ran after him, excited by his own idea. "It'll be fun and challenging!" 

Killua shook his head and walked on. 

* * *

_What are they doing here?_

The thought nagged at Illumi during the final rehearsal. _Must concentrate_ he had to steadily remind himself. The co- ordinator was blaring out the order of entrance, positions to take in the introduction, yadda yadda yadda, carrying on in a way which reminded Illumi of his mother. 

_Why are they here?!_

The trail of thought continued to distress him but he made sure his face was an expressionless mask so no one could see the troubles raging in his mind. He preferred the solitary life, and often worked long months just so that he could be away from home. Seeing a family member in the same city was a threat to his peace and an invasion of his territory. It felt like they were stealing his haven away from him, just like they had taken away everything else a long, long time ago. 

"Miss Arammi! This is the fifth time I've had to single you out today! Please step into place!" Illumi was rudely jolted out of his reminiscence by the not too approving tone of the stressed-out organizing lady and he quickly reminded himself to suppress his own annoyed scowl. He looked about him and found that they were finalizing the way the contestants would leave the stage after the Presentation. Bowing his head, he neatly stepped back into line, cautious to avoid other people's glances. Some girls were smirking because he got told off, but Illumi shrugged it off as another incident of jealousy. They all knew he was going to win anyway. 

"All right. I think that looks good. Lets break for half an hour girls!" 

Illumi's former peaceful state of mind was now upset by the presence of his brother and the kid Gon. Dad had rung him up two months ago and told him succinctly to leave Killua alone. Come to think of it, they had hardly exchanged more than ten words in the last conversation. Their roads hadn't diverged since… and it felt good. It felt good to escape the ever-scornful scrutiny of Silva's distasteful glare which seemed to criticize his style of work and of late, his very existence. Seeing Killua sometimes reminded him of seeing Dad. 

Come to think of it, why was Killua allowed to escape his responsibilities from succeeding the family business? Here he was, frolicking with his 'friend', picketing around the crowds and having fun whilst his own schedule was packed for the next six weeks. 

_I hate this job!_

Why doesn't Killua have to help train Alluka and Karuto? 

_I don't hate this job! I just hate my life!_

Why was there no prospect of any of this ending? It was a chilling thought: he'd keep killing until he was too old to get out of bed or he'd never return from a mission one day and none of them back on Kukuru mountain would even care. 

_I hate this life!_ _I hate how I don't have a life._

He'd never return from a mission one day and none of them would ever care.   


None of them would ever care.   


Ever.   


Illumi almost doubled over in his seat violently shivering. He'd never felt such heart numbing, _paralyzing,_ cold. 

"Arammi-san, your face is looking awfully pale." 

Illumi struggled to look up. He saw wavy blue black curls and concerned coal black eyes set in a lovely ivory coloured oval face. It was his client's eldest daughter Karen, a master nen user in respect of healing and an apprentice in training to become a Royal doctor. She had taken a strange affection to him as an 'older sister' of sorts and eagerly followed him practically everywhere. He didn't mind – in fact, seeing her bright smiles at him made him happy and he'd be idiotically smiling to himself for hours afterwards from the warmth. She now looked fretful and concerned. No – he didn't want to see that – he wanted to see her smile. 

"I…I am fine." 

He tried to stand but his legs were sapped of strength and buckled beneath him. He ungraciously crashed to the floor bringing down the other chairs around him. All the other contestants startled and looked at him. There was an awkward silence. 

"Arammi-san…" 

"Karen-chan, it's ok." 

Leaning heavily on a chair that didn't look like it would topple with the slightest breeze, he was able to stand straight, but it clearly took effort and it showed as his entire body trembled beneath the silken robes and dress. The organizing lady gave him the day off since the rest of the girls were only preparing for a last run through. 

It was exactly two thirty and the sun was still strong. The warmth tingling his pale skin was comfortable, bathing his stiff and cold face in warmth, thawing his chilled body. 

"Karen-chan, do you know a place where I can lie down and bask in the sun? I want to get my blood flowing again." 

Karen wrapped her arm around his, rubbing her cheek against his fine silken shirt with a small happy smile on her face. 

"Perhaps the air conditioning was on too high. The national park is a nice place at this time. You should sit under a tree, otherwise you might get sun burnt. We haven't had lunch yet either, so I'll buy us some food too." 

"Please make it hot food."   


Illumi watched her run off, contemplating why he had these urges to please her so that she would smile at him. Karen was twenty one this year and an accomplished doctor already. By all accounts, she inherited her father's nen abilities and diverted them to healing whilst her two younger brothers were off in military school training to become marshals and corporals. According to Karen, her mother had died giving birth to her and her stepmother then died in the war not long after giving birth to her youngest son. But most of the pictures around Kastro court weren't of the two luckless women that had married Kamus. 

When Karen first showed her the photo of her aunt, he thought he was looking into a mirror. Kimone Kalinnan Kastro was his exact replica, even though she had to be at least twenty years older. Karen's fingers delicately traced around her aunt's face on the picture and told him that she had been closer to her aunt than her stepmother. Unfortunately, as was the fate of those who meddled in Arcadian politics, Aunt Kim had chosen to take her life in protest and defiance against Rodimostev II's handling of foreign affairs. That was about a ten ago and not long after her death, the human tragedy of the Decade long War erupted, killing an official twenty million people and probably another one or two million unaccounted for.   


Illumi knew that half the time Karen treated him as a shadow of her aunt, a reminder of the blissful ten years of her life before the war destroyed everything she had come to know. He didn't mind – she could ask anything of him, and he would automatically comply. 

Karen glanced back at where Arammi-san now lay, in the cool shade of a large oak tree with her eyes closed in a light sleep. Several furry sparrows ruffled their soft brown feathers and sat down nearby, cooing contentedly in the shifting shade. 

"That will be twenty five dollars please." 

Karen made sure the hot soup didn't spill when she retreated back to the tree. 

"Arammi-san, I've got you some lunch. Hot, just like you wanted." 

Illumi's broke out of his contemplation, pleased to smell food. 

He took a small sip and gave a relaxed sigh. "Thank you Karen-chan. This is exactly what I need right now." He added quietly and cupped the foam cup with both hands, blew away the steam and took several small sips. He could feel her watching him intensely and wished that she'd never stop looking at him, wished that her gaze and attention would forever be fixed on him. Unnerved by his new desires, Illumi struggled to make some conversation. 

"Have you had anything to eat yourself Karen-chan?" 

"I'll have to go back home soon to join father for afternoon tea. Chef likes to pack in all the cakes and deserts so it might as well be my lunch." 

Illumi suddenly felt a small pity for Karuto. She would never be able to smile as Karen did now, and it was a most beautiful smile indeed. Were these the workings and trappings of fate? That being born to a certain family meant a certain life – one that could be filled with sunshine and smiles, the other of everlasting darkness and the stink of blood? And what influenced or directed the family or place that we are all born to? Since time immemorial, humanity had always held some "higher power" responsible – or was it just impartial chance and probability running its endless course? 

_Who fucked with my life? Can my life ever be like hers?_

"Karen-chan, you were alive during the war. What part did you play?" 

"I'm a doctor Arammi-san. I was out at the front concentrating on nursing the injured and the sick." She gave an empty laugh, one entirely devoid of humour. "Half the time they never had enough people and manpower, so there were long periods when I was down in the trenches with a machine gun in my hand and a sword strapped on my back; or creeping forward under the rain of bullets to serve soldiers their dinner." She looked down at her own hands that were laced with small silken scars, half lost in thought. 

"These aren't the best hands for a doctor I must admit. A doctor is supposed to heal people and save lives," she mumbled quietly to herself, "Yet I have killed many people with these hands. I've even used my healing abilities to wound people. I would reach into enemies with my bare hands and instead of restore and heal their insides, I would destroy their vital organs from within…" she broke off abruptly and looked back up at Illumi with almost a type of fear and panic. Her eyes had suddenly flared up with bloodlust so wild and uncontrollable that Illumi wondered if he should back away, very slowly. 

"You probably don't understand what I'm talking about…." 

Illumi set his cup of soup aside and held her hands in his warm ones. They were soft and supple. 

"They are wonderful hands Karen-chan, and they will heal many more people in your lifetime than the people you were forced to kill. Killing in war does not make you a murderer." _I would know_, he wanted to tell her, _because I'm just scum who kills for money_. 

Karen forced herself to nod and beam a brighter smile, harshly reigning back any tears that were ready to spill at a moment's notice. She was twenty-one, an adult who could cope with her problems, she should have been stronger than this. 

"May I ask a favour of you Karen-chan?" 

"Yes?" 

"I have a younger brother, who, in an unfortunate accident four years ago has been confined to a wheelchair since. I've taken him to see all sorts of doctors, but none of them could help. I hear you're a Royal Doctor in training with special abilities and all…" 

Karen gave the request serious thought, welcome at the change of topic. "I'll have to personally examine your brother. Four years is a long time, but not too long so that the damage is going to be permanent. How old is he?" 

"He turned ten this year." 

"To be confined to a wheelchair at such a young age," she commented sympathetically, "But the muscles of young children tend to rapidly deteriorate if there is no proper exercise. How severe is his paralysis?" 

"He cannot move from the neck down." 

Karen sighed. "Spinal injury is tricky indeed. Needless to say, your brother has had no feelings in his limbs for these past four years, and that makes it all the more difficult." 

"His condition is peculiar. You must see him first before you cast away any hope of helping him." 

Illumi scolded himself. That came out a bit too desperately and demandingly, but he had a right to be distressed. Alluka hadn't been able to move for the past four years, and almost every action required assistance. Mom and dad long ago gave up hope of Alluka becoming an outstanding professional assassin since he fatally screwed up his last mission, and probably hadn't even looked on him since. All this time, Alluka continued to have nightmares leaving him screaming his guts out in the dead of night subsequently leading to hours of hysterical crying and mad blabbering about something that happened to him in his last mission. If he didn't look after Alluka and paid Milluki to do so in his absence, dad would never care whether Alluka was alive or dead. 

_A lot like me really._

"I'll call him and tell him to come immediately so you can assess the situation." 


	4. Chapter 4

**C H A P T E R F O U R**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

Illumi dug into his glossy matching purple handbag for the mobile phone before Karen could respond. His trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons. It was the opportunity of a lifetime – she would be better than any other doctor from the most prestigious hospital and could help Alluka for sure. He finally managed to punch in the numbers for Milluki's cell-phone and waited for the computer genius to pick it up. 

"Yo big bro." Milluki's voice was followed by a strange crunching noise - ah, the chips, of course. 

"Millu, bring Allu to Arcadia Central immediately. I'll meet the both of you at the entrance to the Outer Forbidden Palace at ten thirty tomorrow night." 

"Whoah! Hold on a minute there! Everyone's here in Arcadia Central bro; Mum, dad, grandpa, and us three as well!" 

Illumi's heart began to beat harder and faster, the information furiously fanning the fires of outrage and confusion in his mind. "You're here already?" 

"Yeah, would you believe it?" Milluki snorted, crunching another fistful of chips, "The Zoldicks are out on a family trip because mamma wanted us to behave like a _normal _family for once. I don't know **_how _**she managed to persuade ol' dad." 

Illumi felt like his heart was bleeding on hearing the news. His throat was starting to constrict and he almost choked on his words. "But why Arcadia?" 

"Mum heard about a Coronation festival and thought it would be fun. I for one have had a fabulous time already! Did you see the chicks at the beauty contest! Man! If I could lay my hands on one, especially that Arammi…" 

Illumi swallowed down his repulsion at that very thought and concentrated on the conversation at hand. "How's Allu? Make sure he's not dressed too warmly. It's a hot day today." 

"Yeah yeah, Karuto and I are taking good care of him whilst mum and dad go frolicking. Grandpa is having a good time hanging about the museum." 

Milluki was obviously not paying much attention to the phone call or else he would have picked up the hint of distress in his brother's voice. _Must be distracted by all the food_, Illumi thought darkly. With a brother who couldn't be entrusted with a single task, how were you _not_ supposed to worry? 

"Tomorrow night." He stressed again. "At ten thirty: The entrance to the outer palace with Allu. I've found someone who can help." 

"That's cool. We'll see you then." Milluki hung up on the other end, eager to return to his food shopping. 

Illumi leaned against the tree trunk and breathed in deeply, the smell of damp earth and grass teasing his nostrils. He had to be calm and figure out a way to avoid his family for the next forty-eight hours if he wanted to get his payment for the job _and_ leave the country alive. It was harder than most of the assignments that he had to handle. If he had things his way, he thought bitterly, he would certainly stay for another month so that he could spend more time with Karen. But no – as was his miserable fate, whatever small pleasures he found in life would be taken from him, throwing him back into isolation and the solitary life, alone and unaccompanied. 

"Arammi-san?" Illumi cast aside his morbid thoughts guiltily, noting that Karen was concerned about him again. Were his expressions showing on his face? That cannot be. He could not remember having any expressions since the day he could comprehend. 

"Is there a 'Coronation festival' to be held soon or something? Apparently, my entire family is here to join in the fun. It's just kind of embarrassing that they found out I entered a beauty competition." 

Karen relaxed, falsely believing this confusion to be the root of Illumi's troubles. "Rodimostev III became Emperor at around this time last year. The festival is all around us Arammi-san. The Market Square isn't usually bursting with so much entertainment you know." She stole a quick look at her watch and almost jumped. 

"My goodness, look at the time! I've got to get home for tea otherwise father will be cross." 

"I'll be bringing my brother tomorrow night." Illumi repeated, watching her dust the dirt off her pale blue silken summer dress. It was trimmed with silver on the edges with a twining vine of roses running along the hem of the skirt. She gave him a curt nod. 

"I'll bring my mentor. He's one of the top doctors in the Forbidden Palace. He and I will make your brother walk again." 

Having made his farewells, she dashed across the thick carpet of grass and made her way back to the main road on the far side of the park. 

_WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE!_

The tormented voice rattled inside his mind, over and over again as he made his way back to the hotel to rest and avoid bumping into his family members.   


* * *

  


"Leorio! Put that down immediately!" Doctor Faust demanded. Leorio almost dropped the bottle and caught it under the angry glare of his mentor. 

"Of all students I get, I just had to have the slow one." Faust muttered, scratching his chaotic straw-like blond hair. Leorio carefully replaced the jar, then aimed a well trained glare at the back of the white lab coat of the doctor which was bent over rummaging for some old texts in cardboard boxes way past their usage date. 

"Sensei, what are we looking for again?" he waved his hand vigorously in front of his face to ward off the sudden tornado of dust as Faust heaped a mountain of books at his feet. 

"Take these, and we're on our way out of the Palace." 

"What am I? A pack horse?" Leorio's quiet brooding did not escape the Royal Doctor's keen ears. 

"As a reinforcement type, yes. For goodness sakes just get moving and stop complaining like a woman all the time! You don't want to stay around the motes and mites!" 

Leorio finally trundled out into broad daylight, silently proud of his balancing act with the books. How did he end up following this mad scientist who applied black lipstick and had outrageously dark eye-bags? One day he was studying his pants off to win a scholarship; next Medical School had sent him packing to Arcadia to train under a 'Royal Doctor'. It had sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime at first, but when Faust discovered that his nen was very limited, the teacher student relationship instantly crashed downhill. Apparently, mastering nen was a pre-requisite for all Royal Doctors. 

Leorio couldn't believe it at first – the Emperor of Arcadia had, at his disposal, several dozen men and women who were all at the peak of their skills. Not only did they apply the marvels of science and technology, their additional abilities allowed them to restore limbs in a fraction of the time that normal medicine would take or to heal wounds without the aid of anything but their personal energies. It _was_ the opportunity of a lifetime – he just didn't have the potential to seize it. 

"Are you listening? We are heading off to Kastro Court where we'll be joining General Kamus and his daughter for afternoon tea." 

Leorio grumbled. "Whatever. What about these books?" 

"That's where we're taking them. The General's daughter is my brightest student yet. You'd do well to learn from her." 

Leorio's eyes brightened at the thought. _The General's daughter_ he fantasized, wondering how old she was and what she might look like and how she might look in sexy lingerie. 

"You so much as drool on her and I _will _sew your lips together. Then perhaps you can learn to practice anaesthetizing your own face to un-pick the stitches."   


  
  


* * * * 

  
  


"Sorry I'm late Father." Karen took her seat on her father's faint nod of acknowledgement and sipped on some bitter Arcadian tea. He was staring into space with that brooding, impassive expression whenever he was troubled by something. 

He abruptly turned to face her. "Where were you all day?" 

"I was with Arammi-san at rehearsal today," Karen initially stammered but quickly recovered from the shock, "She felt sick half-way through so I accompanied her for lunch at the park." 

Karen failed to notice the slight twitch of the lips or the tension of the muscles around Kamus' eyes. "Felt sick?" he echoed. His daughter nodded. 

"She said she felt very cold and could barely stand up. I think she was much better by the time I left her though." 

Kamus absorbed this information without a blink. He was about to ask his next question when a servant entered. 

"General, the Royal Doctor Faust has arrived. He says that he has been invited by the Lady Karen." 

"Why yes." Kamus watched the relief and anxiousness in his daughter's actions as she half stood up, undecided whether she should go to the door to see her mentor or wait for him to come in. She took in a deep breath and took her seat again, her mind made up and her voice steadier. "Please send him in, and set the table for two more." 

Doctor Faust, still dressed in his white lab coat (which everyone knew he wore as a fashion statement rather than for its practical purpose), strode into the dining hall with light and energetic steps and gave the General and his daughter a lavishing bow. Leorio tried to bend over but decided against it in fear of dropping his cargo. He peered around the stack of books that he was juggling and caught a glimpse of the mad doctor's student. 

Faust's high baritone voice severely cut through his mesmerized state, silently reminding him of the threat. "Leorio, would you kindly remove that inappropriate grin off your face and behave." A servant came and relieved him of those musty books. 

"Take them to my study." Karen ordered, then eyed Leorio with mild suspicion. 

"Good afternoon General, Karen-chan." Faust gave his favourite pupil a wink that she replied with a wide smile. "Thank you for the invitation. This lumbering dolt here is my new student - " 

"Leorio." He put on what he believed was his most dashing and handsome look, extending his hand to the young woman. Unbeknownst to him, three blue lines appeared beneath everyone's eyes. Faust reacted first and slapped his hand away. 

"Fear not Karen-chan. He cannot constitute a threat. I thought he might be bright at first, being a Hunter and all, then I find out that he barely knows nen!" He threw his gloved hands up in frustration and took his seat beside his pupil. 

"Well, stop standing there gawking and take a seat too, you imbecile. Be honoured that you can sit and have lunch with an Arcadian General! Well Karen-chan, I bought the texts and books that can help us. What is the condition of this…why are you winking at me like that?" 

In fact, Karen was trying to shush up her hyper-centric mentor with cryptic facial movements that he failed to interpret. 

"What were you about to work on honey?" her father asked again. She could hear his disapproval and interrogation but bowed her head politely. 

"It's nothing much…you see, Arammi-san's younger brother - " 

"Ah yes," Kamus interrupted again "that reminds me, I want you to cease your interactions with her as soon as possible." 

Karen blinked, baffled. "What?" 

"I want to clarify some things in the meantime. You may see her again once I approve." 

"I beg your pardon?" her voice hardened and her eyes began to narrow dangerously. That only annoyed her father. 

"She might not be who she claims to be." Kamus folded his arms and crossed his legs, settling into a more comfortable position, indicating that he was about to have a lot to say. 

"This morning, after that lunatic rejected my kind advice, I bumped into two boys. One of them claimed that Miss Arammi was his brother? Kids – you know they have no shame these days; will say anything just to get a rise out of your gullibility." He ran a coarse hand through his thick, jet-black hair and chuckled harshly. 

"Were they going to make a fool of me? Of course not! But then I couldn't help thinking about a lot of things that, in retrospect, are quite suspicious and worrying, especially since you two seem to be together whenever the rehearsals are finished. Karen, you have to realize, the are a lot of people out there who would like to topple the Emperor by getting rid of us first." 

"Umm…you guys know Miss Arammi?" Leorio asked, oblivious to the tension in the atmosphere. 

"I don't really know if her name is Arammi or Illumi. Right now, I'm confused, and when I'm unsure, I tend to be cautious, and I suggest you adopt this caution of my as well, Karen." 

Leorio almost toppled out of his chair but he clung onto the table edge firmly. "Illumi! This young, sweet lady is hanging out with a bastard brother like him!" he spun around as quick as lightening and cupped Karen's hands in his own, body quivering with righteous outrage. "Don't worry Miss, I'll make sure he never harasses you again." 

Karen stared at him, lost for words. She felt an urge to hit him. Many Times. In the face. _Hard_. 

Her father on the other hand, peered inquisitively at Leorio. "You know this…man? Why do you curse him so?" 

Leorio fixed his tie and cleared his throat. "We met him at the Hunter exam. He's a bastard brother because he forces his younger brother, Killua, to follow the ways of an assassin." He flashed Karen what he considered to be a handsome grin. "However, Gon, Kurapica and I rescued - " 

Kamus nodded as Leorio rambled on about some heroic rescue mission. Faust's new student did in fact get the names of the children right. The only other reason why he knew their names would be because he was part of the whole shady conspiracy. But it would seem too obvious and coincidental. And what would they stand to achieve if they busted this 'Illumi's' cover anyway? How would the revelation that Arammi was a man be detrimental to the Kastro family? 

Unable to reach any solid conclusion, Kamus played it carefully. Furthermore, he had to make sure that they were talking about the same children. "Yes," he began slowly, keeping his voice neutral, "I did indeed met two boys called Gon and Killua this afternoon. Can you give me a description of them both?" 

The question confused the apprentice doctor a bit, but he shook his head to clear his mind and nodded easily. "Of course. Killua's pale with fine white hair. Gon on the other hand has a sunny disposition, is probably wearing green and has spiky black hair. Gon's the nicer kid. I wouldn't want to annoy Killua if I were you though." 

Kamus absorbed this answer with closed eyes. They were talking about the same people. That meant there were three people in it together, the problem was 'what' exactly were they together in. The other dilemma was Arammi's gender. So what if they were right and that he had hired a man to win the contest? There wasn't a rule against that. Should he put up his defenses against the stranger that he only knew for a week? And the two kids and the apprentice doctor as well? 

Faust cleared his throat loudly, disturbing his calculations. "You said something about the 'ways of an assassin' Leorio. You should always give the finer details." 

"Oh, you mean that." Leorio replied offhandedly. "You see, Killua belongs to the Zoldick family, and in the Hunter exam, he expressed the wish that he no longer desired to pursue such a career. But his brother wouldn't let him have his own life, that heartless creep, and was determined to bend Killua's will into submission by threats and intimidation. So Killua disqualified himself from the Hunter exam by killing one of the finalists - which was expressly prohibited." 

The Mad doctor and the General's cups simultaneously dropped from their hands and crashed into a thousand pieces on the marble floor. 

"_The _Zoldick assassin family?" Faust muttered in great disbelief. The General reacted more violently however. 

"My daughter is hanging around, _arm in arm _with a professional _assassin_?" He raved and ranted, pacing back and forth in the dining hall like a caged animal. Karen fled from the dining hall and the last that Leorio saw were her coal black eyes glaring at him, burning with enough murder and hatred to put him through the shredder thirteen times over.   



	5. Chapter 5

**** ****

**C H A P T E R F I V E**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

"Anata! Would you have a look at this!" Kikyou delightedly crooned over large group of show puppies inside a low iron fence. They all waged their short tails vigorously, vying for her attention and nipped and licked gently at her hand as she reached down to pat their short golden fur. She picked up a decidedly cute one with large chocolate brown eyes, floppy ears and a snout positively quivering with excitement. 

"You think Mike could use some company perhaps?" Kikyou pushed the puppy right next to Silva's less than impressed face, and the dog instinctively nuzzled the gaunt cheek with his wet nose. The silver haired assassin roughly wiped his face and deliberately looked off elsewhere in disgust, unable to understand what his wife thought was so interesting in a furball which could only eat and crap all over the place. At least with his hunting and guard dogs, they were well disciplined, aggressive and appallingly savage. He sighed inaudibly as he felt himself being forcibly dragged off to the next store. 

Ye Gods no – not a jewelry stand. He'll be stuck here until sunset and she wouldn't be finished picking out the items she wanted. Just as he was about to suggest to buy the whole store so that they could find a quieter, less crowded place, her hand shot out and grasped a necklace of amber and diamonds like an eager little girl attracted to really sparkly things. 

"Oh my, Anata, don't you think that this would go well with the pair of earrings that Killu gave me last Christmas?" she held it up for him to see. 

"You've got a lot of earrings," he said with incredible patience and the all infuriating blank look on his face. 

Kikyou stiffened and shadows started dancing across her face. Silva gulped, realizing that he had upset his wife's fragile good mood and now he was going to cop an earful of verbal abuse about him being an insensitive, bad husband in public. 

"The yellow diamond earrings that Killu had sent home during Christmas. The ones that I'm currently wearing now," she replied with a tight, controlled smile and an equally tight, controlled voice. Silva broke into cold sweat and felt the rising urge to back away, very slowly. If Kikyou was going to blow, he was going to make sure that he was in the next country, well away from ground zero when it happened. 

But he couldn't help admiring how those glittering stones complimented her black holter neck top and the deep brown long skirt down to the matching sandals. Even at her age, she still attracted attention from other people by her inborn style, class and grace. Her black hair, once blue-black in her youth but had diminished somewhat with age, was tightly tied up into a high bun. The strands that escaped still curled up like springs and tickled the sides of her face whenever they became loose and had to be hooked back behind the ears again. 

She even removed her visor, revealing smoky grey eyes that could barely see after Killua had cut her in order to make his escape from home. And although she could barely tell the amber apart from yellow diamonds, she was unusually happy and would give him the occasional smile whenever she did catch him looking in her direction. 

Kikyou failed to notice the merchant looking rather quizzically and uncertainly at her. Silva however gave him a flat glare that read _I'm a jealous and possessive husband who is also incredibly violent so stop staring at my wife like that._

"Oh, I mean no offence sir and madam!" he stammered with real fear in his voice and felt that it was in his health's interest to explain. "It's just that your rather…_beautiful _wife bears quite remarkable resemblance to Miss Arammi. Pray tell are you her relatives perhaps?" 

Silva looked at the man as if he were stupid. "Who is Arammi?" 

The merchant, overcome by staggering shock forgot about his fear and gaped at them with an incredulous expression on his face. "You don't _know _who Miss Arammi is?!" He whipped out a flyer with the faces of the finals contestants plastered all over the surface. With a stubby finger decked in rings, he pointed to a particular frame. "This is one of the biggest events of the Festival! That's Miss Arammi right there!" 

The picture had almost made Silva crash to the floor. He snatched the piece of paper from the merchant's hand and began to pull his wife away. 

Kikyou made a sound of protest and confusion. "What about the necklace?" 

"Buy it." He said gruffly, impatient to be off. Then realizing that Kikyou was having difficulty with the clasps on her purse, he quickly threw some Arcadian notes at the man, indifferent to the value, just as long as it was sufficient to cover the cost, and pulled Kikyou off towards the road. 

"What's the rush Anata?" she sounded hurt and annoyed. 

"Want to get something to drink?" he asked out of the blue. Kikyou hesitated. 

"Ok." 

* * * * 

  


In a trendy café by the busy sidewalk, Kikyou sipped her iced lemon tea under the shade of the large umbrella, her vision consisting of blurred shapes and fuzzy colours representing the many people swarming by at lunch hour. Even on this hot summer's day, there was enough cool breeze in the air to break apart the humidity and stuffiness in the masses of people. 

"This was a good idea." She sighed feeling the chill cooling the body down. "Anata, I want to talk to you about something." She couldn't see that Silva wasn't paying the desired attention to her words because he was staring rather grimly at the piece of paper in front of him. 

"Shoot," came the disinterested reply. 

Kikyou made sure the glass was firmly placed on the table, determined to get her point across even if Silva was being his usual obnoxious self. "It's about Illumi. I think he's getting old enough to establish his own family. I'm thinking of picking a girl for him." 

Silva grunted with distaste at her suggestion, causing her familiar warm sensation of anger to rise again. "He won't be needing a wife dressing up like this!" 

She barely caught the paper that Silva threw at her. Unable to decipher the contents of the page, she sighed and dug into her shiny black designer bag for her visor and attached them on. The world came into view immediately, and so did the faces on the flyer. One of them was instantly recognizable. 

"Illumi!" her voice rose several octaves and so did her fully blossomed anger causing Silva to flinch. "What on earth is he doing dressed like this! Oh Illu!" she sobbed hysterically, her wringing hands already rending the offending flyer into a mangled piece of rubbish. _Poor paper,_ Silva thought. 

A somewhat womanish man shriek cut through the air, dispelling their frustration with welcome curiosity. Silva saw the people all part to make way, gasps of fright rising into the air like a Mexican wave. Kikyou stood up slightly and caught a glimpse of man sprinting down the road as fast as his legs would carry him. 

"I remember him. He's one of Killua's friends who came to our place the other day."   


  


* * * *   


  


"You are an absolutely **USELESS IDIOT**!" Doctor Faust roared racing down the street after Leorio, his white lab coat billowing dramatically behind him. 

Leorio emitted a woman's high-pitched scream and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. People, on hearing his squealing which very much reminded them of a pig slaughterhouse, smartly moved aside to avoid the rampage of the mad doctor. Silver glints cut through Leorio clothes, missing him only by bare micro-millimeters. _Scalpels?!_

Killua's ears pricked up. "Sounds like someone is being cut down." He commented to Gon and Kurapika, sucking on his lollipop as they approached the street corner. 

A large figure dangerously swerved in from around the other side of the corner and collided straight into Gon. Killua immediately took the lollypop out of his mouth in case another inconsiderate jerk would rush around and knock him over. He didn't want to choke on the lollypop. 

The force of the collision sent Gon reeling and he landed on his backside. "Owie…"he muttered, quickly attending to the scrapped skin on his palms. 

"Leorio? Oh my gosh, is that you?" Kurapica exclaimed, hauling the man to his feet. The doctor-in-training shook his head to clear his swimming vision and glanced about nervously like a hunted animal. 

"What are all you guys doing here?" he asked more out of courtesy than anything else because his attention was too caught up with his other impending doom. He didn't fail to note however, that apart from his three friends, they were also accompanied by an IT looking man and a kid with fuzzy brown hair. 

"What do you mean what are we doing here? Question is what are _you_ doing here?" Killua wagged his lollipop at him. "Gon and I have been here for three days already. We bumped into Kurapica, Wing-sensei and Zuchi today." Killua could tell that by the way Leorio's eyes were constantly darting around that he wasn't particularly concerned about getting to know the people he and Gon had befriended at the Celestial FightingTower. 

Kurapica eyes flashed dangerously at Leorio and he stepped on his foot hard to make him acknowledge his new friends. "I met Wing and Zuchi on the way here. Arcadia is a country with a rich history, culture and tradition. The Coronation Festival is something that should be compulsory attendance for every Hunter." 

Wing and Killua shivered slightly at those last few words, but Leorio's doom was upon him, heralded by a fearsome warcry. Kurapica's chain shot out in time to intercept a dozen shiny steel scalpels, hideously sharp, and other sorts of surgical equipment with extremely pointy tips. 

"Oh?" Killua breathed out lightly and narrowed his eyes at the blond haired man in the distance, scrutinizing his every move. "What'd you do this time Leorio? Try to pick up that man's daughter?" 

"Do you guys all see me like that?" Leorio said, huffing heavily, and he became even more incensed as his friends all simultaneously nodded in total agreement. 

"How _DARE _you make Karen-chan cry!" Faust's ringing voice challenged, "I will have your tongue for this you ungrateful pig!" 

No sooner were those words spoken, Leorio found himself in a circle of accusing stares, their owners having automatically made the logic series: Karen-chan è girlè crying è Leorio's fault è show no mercy. He looked around him in bewilderment. "It's not what you think!" 

But explaining, no, _pleading_, was useless. His sensei had already caught up to him, and between the cracks of his fisted fingers were razor blades winking death in the sunlight. 

"I am curious," Gon said loudly. "What has Leorio done to make Karen-chan cry? And who is Karen- chan?" 

Faust's twisted expression of rage swung fully, bearing down onto Gon with a pair of mad, golden coloured eyes. 

"Karen-chan," he began in a voice that forced blood to stop circulating "is my most favourite student. This _moron _here said the most inappropriate things at the most inappropriate time which caused her to become very upset!" 

Wing found himself having to restrain Leorio from trying to reach out and strangle the strange man. 

"Hey! I've had enough of your crap!" Leorio roared back, "Illumi's a dangerous person, and if Miss Karen was hanging out so affectionately with an emotionless assassin like him, I feel it is my right to caution you! Be grateful you…you…lunatic!" 

Faust sucked in a breath of surprise which immediately translated into fuel for his rage. He took one menacing step forward. The final threat was uttered. "You stop speaking, as of today." 

Kurapica and Killua stood in Faust's way and adopted defensive positions. Gon tugged at Leorio's jacket to get his attention, and conveyed the expression that he still didn't understand what was going on. Question marks continuously floated above his head. 

Doctor Faust judged Killua to be the weaker of the two from the stance alone and decided to make his move against him first, or perhaps even hold him hostage in order to coerce the blonde one to back off. Quick as lightening, his hand reached out – 

Only to be caught in a painful iron grip. He turned to see his interrupter with murderous wrath. 

"How _dare _you look at me like that!" Kikyou screeched. Her sudden appearance dashed away every bit of bloodlust in everyone, who were just as shocked as the unfortunate doctor, smitten by Kikyou's unrivaled temper. 

===== **_a cloud of dust and sounds of punching and kicking later_**====== 

"Gee, where have I seen this scene before?" Gon wondered, scratching his head and looking to Killua for ideas. His friend shrugged but had a small wicked smile on his face in one of the rare moments of appreciation for his mother's skills and abilities. 

Kikyou clapped her hands free of dust and humphed and turned her nose high in the air. Faust lay defeated, a crumpled heap on the ground at her feet, most likely unconscious. 

"It's a small world Killu." The young assassin started, caught unawares by a familiar voice. He turned around and saw his dad behind him. Silva smiled and bent over slightly to ruffle Killua's messy hair. 

Everyone pitied poor Killua as he became trapped in his mother's suffocating embrace. "Oh Killu! Mamma has missed you so much!" Kikyou fervently rubbed her cheek against Killua's and showered a rain of kisses along his face, all the while muttering her grievances. 

Killua quickly pushed his mother away, completely embarrassed. "Mum, not in public!" he complained, but his mother instantly frowned. Thankfully, not at him but at the gloved hand grasp around her ankle, disturbing her precious reunion with her son. 

"You…have the gall to interfere with **ME**!" Faust croaked and coughed, struggling on all fours to stand. A vein popped on Kikyou's forehead causing people to back away, very slowly. 

===== **_painful sounds of kicking and stomping later _**==== 

Leorio blinked a bit at the near lifeless body of Doctor Faust sprawled out on the concrete ground. "Somehow, I almost feel…. sorry…for him." He muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that he was pleased that someone had kindly eradicated his problem. 

"You're not here to take me home are you?" Killua looked up at his mother uneasily. In his mind, he had already formulated at least six different escape routes, three of which involved the underground sewers, smelly, but carried a higher success rate. One included a lot of roof-top hopping whilst the other two took advantage of the sea of people. 

"No Killua, Mamma came here to find a nice, strong Arcadian girl for your brother when…when…" she clutched onto her young son again and hysterically cried, blurting out gibberish. Silva handed them what was left of the flyer. 

"Killu! Have you known about Illumi's tendencies to cross-dress? No! This can't be! It's all my fault Anata! I should have never permitted him to grow his hair! I'll burn all his clothes that are either pink, purple, red…and even light green! Oh Anata, what are we going to do!" 

"Hey, there's big bro!" Killua's keen eyes caught his brother's figure far off, as well as Hisoka tagging along beside him. Illumi was looking annoyed. 

"Who is that man!" Kikyou exclaimed in horror, noticing that Hisoka had his arm improperly curled around Illumi's slim waist with a haughty smirk on his face. Both of them were engaged in a conversation with the clown not heeding Illumi's annoyance at his unacceptable touching, but he held Illumi tighter still, only because it made Illumi even more annoyed, and he was so cute when those small lips pursed in anger. 

Kikyou adjusted her visor and clenched her fists. "I am going to kill that man right now! Here!" 

"No mum!" Killua held her back. She looked down at Killua, astonished and tried to speak but couldn't form coherent words in her blank mind. 

"It's not that I approve mum, but that man, Hisoka, is a dangerous person."   


  


* * * *   


  


"Do I have to use expletives to get the message across to you Hisoka?" Illumi coldly glared at the magician. "Get your hands off me this instant!" 

"Aww Illu, don't be like that! You can't deny the fact that we're bound together, otherwise we wouldn't have met up in the _same_ hotel. It's a sign of fate!" 

Illumi's callous gaze said that he didn't see any humor in Hisoka's words and five pins materialized in his raised hand. "And this sign from fate says that you're going to be reduced to nothing but a bloody pin-cushion if you don't get out of my sight." 

Hisoka tightened his grip around Illumi's waist, partially in defiance, the other half in spite, mocking the assassin, daring him to land the lethal blows on him. "Why the cold shoulder, Illumi?" he said with venom equal to Illumi's repulsion for him, "I thought you were the one who didn't want to break up with me." 

Illumi's lashed out, viciously knocking away Hisoka's arm. He strained his snarl into a vindictive smile. "Yeah, I was, but guess what! _I don't need you anymore. _I've got someone else now – so have a good day. See you then. Bye bye now." 

That little bit of information shattered Hisoka's haughty confidence and his smirk dropped, revealing an angry, cold face. Illumi ignored Hisoka's increasing rage and pressed on his advantage, only too delighted that Hisoka was hurt by each word. _Serves him bloody right_ Illumi thought in bitter triumph. 

"I mean, she's cute, pretty, affectionate and considerate, devastatingly loyal and won't dump me to chase a boy at least fifteen years her junior! Gods – look at you! Only a desperate and tragic fool would think that he needed you. In retrospect, I'm thinking that I would have been better off buying a dog instead of wasting all those years with you. Go home Hisoka, and get a life – " 

The magician grabbed him and kissed him passionately in public, on the streets. Illumi's eyes widened and he fought to pull away, cursing and berating himself ceaselessly in his mind for dropping his guard that gave Hisoka the opening. 

And then he was saved. Someone dragged Hisoka away and after roughly wiping his mouth, Illumi fled the scene. He'd be damned if he would let Hisoka see the two large drops of hot tears that were ready to spill down his cheeks. 

Hisoka furiously turned to confront the damned fool who had dared to interfere. But he was punished by a punch to his face which was capable of knocking him to the ground. He then felt rough hands grab the front of his shirt and lift him back onto his feet. Although the punch was strong, Hisoka was still able to get a good look at the man: fashionably cut blonde hair bordering on light brown, old scar running from right temple to the bottom of his left cheek and possibly hazel eyes behind a pair of yellow sports shades. _Nen user, damn_, Hisoka thought. He abandoned the Zoldick for the moment to deal with this man. 

"We don't force women to do things that they don't want in this country. Learn to respect our laws and customs." 

Hisoka pried away the fingers gripped onto his shirt and he gave the man a ridiculing smile. "Just get laid will ya? You're so sexually frustrated that you look constipated." 

And Hisoka experienced something that hadn't happened to him for a long time. He got the living daylights beaten out of him, and the man made it look easy too. And no, the cheers that erupted as he lay broken and battered on the ground were _not_ for him.   


  


* * * * 

"He's dangerous." Killua repeated once again, trying to sound convincing but also disappointed by Hisoka's complete and utterly humiliating defeat. Kikyou regarded her younger son doubtfully, but decided against the killing for the moment even though the red-haired man in that injured and vulnerable state could make for an easy kill. _He can thank his lucky stars that he's out in public with at least two hundred witnesses around_. 

Silva clapped a hand on his son's shoulder. "Killu, you know the reason why your brother is here?" 

Killua nodded, and proceeded to tell his friends and family, as he knew it, what was required of Illumi and why he had to go about dressing up as a woman. 


	6. Chapter 6

****

**C H A P T E R S I X**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

  


Karen looked about her fervently. She heard a series of loud crashes in her home and knew it was a sign of her mentor becoming angry – most likely at his new student. Doctor Faust had a disposition towards violence whenever he became slightly annoyed. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what this Leorio could have done wrong to work up her mentor to the stage where he saw physical violence as the only solution to his problems. The conclusion she was left with was not the most comforting one, namely because it shifted the blame on her. She had lost control of her temper and became upset, leaving the table without a word. And all over something that had not been confirmed. But the more she thought about the revelation, she began to see some truth in Leorio's words. Well, truth would be giving him too much credit, but like her father, it drove a wedge of suspicion between her friendship with Miss Arammi. 

Must a Kastro to have so little faith in the goodwill of humanity, so much that the poisonous words of a stranger could make them distrust their own friends? Karen felt helpless to defy this particular value; their family didn't survive the bleak years of Rodimostev II's reign by being trusting – they survived because they had no friends, trusted no one and suspected everyone. And look what this kind of life has bought them – General-hood and a prominent place by the Emperor's side in the new Greater Arcadia. It had to be worth it, right? 

_Trust no one, suspect everyone, and you're guaranteed to survive Arcadian politics._

Karen snorted as she dashed out of Kastro Court to follow the trail of destruction. How many times had her father and her aunt said that to her? Certainly more than too many for she never knew how to properly react to a 'genuine' gesture of friendship and conciliation. No, she thought grimly, whenever someone smiled sincerely at her, the first thought was to count the number of daggers that the person could stick into her back in the future if she replied with a smile of her own. 

_Arammi…Illumi…who gives a dodo if Illumi's 'his' real name anyway? Fact is, he's had many chances to quietly get rid of me but he's done nothing and I sense no ill will. Yes, I'm relying on my natural human instincts and succumbing to a desire to have one real friend. Why do you think I went into medicine father, and did not follow in Aunty Kim's footsteps?_

She was now out in the maze of Arcadia Central's network of streets, her targets having all but vanished into thin air. Karen futilely stood on her tiptoes to look above the bobbing sea of heads but could not glean an extra clue as to where her mentor had charged off to. Just as the last shreds of hope were waning, she heard a man's womanly shrill scream. No respectable Arcadian man would embarrass himself like that by emitting such an atrocious sound and she instantly took up the new lead, hoping to be able to catch up with her mentor and tell him that she was feeling all right after all. She literally flew down the street into the Market Square, nimbly threaded her way through the crowds gathered jam packed near the food court and discovered a small clearing where Doctor Faust lay unconscious on the ground at the feet of a group of people. 

She abruptly stopped in her tracks still some distance away. A sense of wariness spread over her mind, pulled a misty veil in front of her eyes and left her feeling numb and cold. How did it happen? Only a handful of people could approach her mentor without being caught in a rain of scalpels, let alone pulverize him to pulp. Panic seized her as she suddenly composed a dozen conspiracy theories in her mind: Leorio deliberately got her upset knowing that Faust would give chase. Then he led her mentor into an ambush, a trap, but to what end? Was this really a ploy to destabilize and thus destroy the Kastro family by knocking away its potential supporters first? 

A surging tide of intimidating aura drowned out her panic but also threatened to wash her away as well, leaving her feeling thoroughly vulnerable and helpless. She tuned her senses to detect the direction of the nen and discovered that it was coming from up the other side of the road. Whoever that person was, they certainly knew how to cause a stir. People hushed up and parted like the waves as two individual figures calmly headed towards the group at whose feet her mentor lay. Karen squinted to see a figure clad in the distinctive eunuch's uniform striding purposefully towards the scene. 

_Hang on! Were those sleeves lined with gold?_

Yes, they were, and that meant it could only be one person: the head of the eunuch's in the Forbidden Palace - Master Echlan. Beside him, walking with a slightly hunched back was a silver-haired old man who, astonishingly, wasn't impressed by the effect that the old Master Echlan had on the citizens of Arcadia Central. 

Karen didn't let herself be intimidated by the arrival of the eunuch and she held her head up high, walking towards the center of rowdiness without fear or hesitation. No way was she, Karen Kalinnan Kastro, going to back down and avoid meeting the wily old fox. They reached the rowdy scene together, wary eyes unwaveringly studied the other as if they were a potential threat. Their reserved caution and cold formalities told of many silent battles of will as neither wished to submit to the other's influence. Master Echlan could be the head eunuch of the Forbidden Palace but that didn't mean Karen had to bow down to him. Eunuchs weren't allowed to be given ministerial positions of power and they were after all, just house servants. However, Master Echlan was the personal attendant to the Emperor and that meant he spent a lot of time with the Emperor, long enough to promote or destroy the Emperor's opinions on any given subject. 

Karen gave a nod which was dipped precisely low enough to be polite but did not gratify him with another inch of respect and briefly curtsied. "Good afternoon Master Echlan," she said airily, deliberately looking at Faust who needed her immediate aid. She couldn't care less if the eunuch was offended by her haughtiness – she had a right to be; her father was one of the Emperor's Ten Generals, a man who fought on without end during the Decade Long War for a dynasty that everyone cursed and a system of governance that was rotten right to the heart of its structure. But for all of the Kastro family's heroic deeds, time was something that you couldn't compete against. 

Master Echlan had been the head eunuch for a record of sixty years. Although his age neared eighty, he certainly didn't look a day over fifty. Rumors circulating amongst the younger eunuchs were that he could look even younger if he wanted, possibly even revert back to the days of his prime, but he preferred the look of an old man to make opponents underestimate him. Currently, he acted as the personal bodyguard-cum-caretaker to the Emperor and thus commanded great respect (read: sucking up) from the inhabitants of the Forbidden Palace. Apart from the Interior Minister, no one else could come close to him in the field of nen. As an eunuch, he had access to a set of formidable martial arts skills that incorporated the release of nen and made him one of the strongest (non)man on earth. 

He was dressed in the Palace uniform of royal purple with a light pink sash around the waist, its ends just dangling mere inches from the ground. And even though he had a tendency to apply sparse makeup on these trips out of the Palace, no one dared to laugh. His keen eyes scanned the situation, noting that one of the Forbidden Palace's royal doctors was lying unconscious on the floor. His mildly menacing glare sent every other person on their way again, back to what they were doing before the commotion began. He then turned around again and faced the guilty party. 

Echlan took his time to adjust the brocade of silk laced carefully around his arms, flicking away the specks of dust or dirt. He was mindful that Kamus' daughter was already on the retreat from his presence with an unconscious Royal Doctor slung over her shoulder and another man dressed in the robes of an apprentice trailing behind her. All the pity, but there were plenty of other opportunities for him to reassert his dominance and power over a Kastro that he let this minor transgression pass. Kastro Court would bow down to him soon, so let them struggle in the last throes of life. 

He looked at the gathering of people about him with an air of unperturbed calm and commanded the supreme confidence that he had the situation completely under his control; that people were going to answer his questions; that people thereafter would take his orders. "What's going on. I heard screaming all the way from the museum." 

"Killu! You're here too!" Zeno stood forward from Echlan's side, his eyebrows raised. 

"You know these people Zeno?" the eunuch's eyes were filled with intensity for the briefest moments before anyone could notice that there had been a flicker at all. Although he considered Zeno to be a friend, it was still in his interests that Zeno did not know what was going on in his mind. 

"Why yes Echlan. That's my son," he pointed at the Silva who unaware that his father was addressing him because his gaze had been captured by a shocking image and it lingered with unwholesome interest on the girl's retreating figure. Zeno sighed at Silva's lack of response and managed to put on an even smile to continue. "This my daughter in law - that's my son's wife, and this is my grandson, Killua. Kikyou, you know where Millu has taken Allu and Karuto?" 

She shrugged carelessly, irritated by the black and white static that her visor was only capable of producing. She guessed that it was starting to malfunction due to the interference of the strong concentration of everyone's auras. "Probably around the food court at this time," she sighed in defeat, taking the visor off to stow away into her handbag. "Millu will have to fix this." 

"Excuse me Zeno…. but did you call your daughter-in-law Kikyou?" 

Zeno blinked. Echlan's always had good hearing and hesitancy was not in his vocabulary, "Yes, that's her name," he nodded. 

Killua was getting bored, not to mention disappointed that an old geezer who dressed like a transvestite had come to quell the excitement. He felt himself ready to growl at his grandpa's friend though for gawking at his mother like she was some terrifying beast. True, she _could_ act that way, but still, his mother was pretty for her age and he expected more civility from a person that grandpa Zeno had chosen for a friend. 

Master Echlan delicately stepped forward, his every motion a movement of elegance and grace, to look carefully at Silva's wife, who, only being able to see vague shapes and blurs of colour tugged at her husband's arm uneasily. "Kikyou….Princess Kikyou? Do you remember me?"   


* * * * 

  


"Who were those people?" Karen asked Leorio as they laid down the limp body of the doctor onto the spare bed. 

"They were my friends. It's amazing how they all chose to turn up for the Coronation Festival, but for _entirely_ different reasons of course," he hastily added the last part in, recalling Kurapika's words. Killua and Gon were certainly _not_ here for the history and culture and the day that happens, is the day that he, Leorio, will surpass Doctor Faust's skills and have the latter groveling to him. 

"They must be powerful nen users to be able to do this to mentor." 

Leorio laughed and shook his hands in front of him as an indication of innocence. "No no, Kurapika stopped those killer scalpels all right, but it was actually Killua's mum who…um…how to put this devastatingly…beat the living crap out of Sensei." He puffed his chest. "Mind you though I felt sympathy for him when I saw him go down." 

Karen frowned at those words. "Killua was the young boy, with white hair? He's the assassin, the Zoldick that you spoke of earlier at afternoon tea?" 

"Why yes, and the older man with long white hair was his dad, and the strange woman with the eye guard was his mother. It's all _quite_ coincidental how we all seem to meet together heh?" 

The older man with long white hair… 

He was distinctly looking at her funny when she arrived at the scene of Faust's defeat. It was not a look unfamiliar to her, a horrid and abhorrent look which she had come to hate with fierce passion over the years. She'd seen it on men who lusted after women, raped them, then laughed and spat in their faces afterwards. Over and over again, how many women during the war had endured that look of unhealthy longing and had their bodies ravished? How many of those mutilated bodies did she have to deal with over the ten years, day after day, night after night, forced to witness one outrage after another? Sobbing, tears, depression, suicide, _insanity_ – all because of that look, all because those women and girls were weak and defenseless…all because of war. 

She suddenly felt her head swimming and her blood felt so warm, so comfortable. Her nostrils flared as she breathed in deeply and she could smell the salty sweat and the sickly sweet aroma of blood emanating strongly from the man with the round sunglasses standing opposite her. She could see where his heart was, inside the cage of bone pumping away, the source of life. How she wanted to tear it out and sink her teeth in for a delicious bite and to feel the warm, sweet blood flow down her chin. 

"Karen-san, you're looking awfully pale. I know this is all a big shock to you. Would you like a seat?" Leorio asked, looking flustered by her ghostly pallor and the way her eyes somehow sunk further into their sockets and looked so old. Eyes which had seen a dozen lifetime's worth of blood and killings and loved every moment of it. 

_…Fallen Angel, Demoness born on the Battlefields of Holt…_

Karen thoroughly ignored his last comment; her heightened senses and awareness were translating each sight, sound and smell into information that blared through her mind like a hundred sets of stereo blasters. At that moment, overwhelmed by the sound, she found a certain, quiet peace that left her free, unbound from the shackles of human limitation, and the things which denied her her desires crumbled effortlessly beneath her gaze. As long as the ringing of something akin to feedback continued to ring in her mind, she was something more than human and a little bit less. This feeling was the ultimate release, the never-ending high that got you addicted from the first taste alone. Power now coursed through her veins and to rip the man's heart out required only one simple, beautiful act of murder. As her mind was taken away by the intoxicating scent of blood, it left her in a field of crimson, alone, sustained only by the endless need to feel the thick source of life through her fingers, to see it splayed around her, to live with that wonderful fragrance on her skin. 

"Karen-san?" 

But her aunt had returned to her now hadn't she, the mother that she never had. Her face was exactly as youthful and vibrant as she had pictured in her memory. They spent their weekends out in the private gardens of green leaves and brown earth and blue sky. They made daisy chains if aunt Kim wasn't busy, which she hardly was because she made sure that weekends were reserved for her favourite niece. 

_…Karen Kalinnan Kastro…Royal Doctor in training…_

The dripping blood dissipated from the walls and the ceiling and the light of the mid afternoon caught up to her again, showing her the brilliance of colours compared to the red of blood. 

Karen smiled a little and chucked. "Ara…no, Illumi-san really is a boy then?" 

Leorio was sure that Karen was trying to be brave and strong about the matter, and he felt bad about how the day had turned out. It was supposed to be a cheerful festive season, yet here they were, with one injured man and a young girl with a heart broken by betrayal. 

"I guess it sort of all makes sense now, just the small things that Illumi did," she looked at him with all seriousness which did not suit her gentle face, "He is a good friend. I haven't been able to talk to people much after the war. Ever since I joined the front line, I've always felt so cold and bitter. Seeing Illumi reminded me so much of my aunt. He let me relive a lot of my childhood days, and they were the best…" she finished off with a shuddering breath, then bent over Faust's unresponsive form and ripped apart his shirt revealing bruises of deep purple, black and blue that made Leorio flinch. 

"What are we going to do? Roll boiled eggs on those bruises to make the swelling go away?" 

Karen rolled her eyes and sighed with varying degrees of exasperation. Her hand glowed white and it gradually became more intense until the light stabbed at the naked eyes and caused Leorio to turn away. "Nothing of that sort," she murmured, then without hesitation, plunged the hand into Faust's open chest. Leorio's eyes widened as the hand sank in beneath the skin and every trace of injury on Faust rapidly disappeared as he too was outlined with a strong incandescent white aura. His jaw went slack and he stepped back when Karen pulled her hand back out and proffered it to him. 

"This is what I do. It is the most effective and efficient method of healing these injuries. Anything can be repaired from the inside - broken capillaries, fractured bones, ruptured organs, torn muscles - all can be fixed by the direct transmission of my nen and applied directly to the damage areas. I did this every day for ten years during the war." 

She made a sharp twisting gesture and the cleansing white nen suddenly discoloured into a vile, dried blood red. Her gaze hadn't change, but Leorio found that his forehead was beaded with sweat. 

"And if I told my nen to destroy, rather than to heal, guess what would happen when I stick my hand into you?" 

Leorio knew that there were some solemn moments in life where the still quietness around you marked you as near your death. The red nen coated on that fine hand, sluggishly twisting and writhing like a sick, dying animal, was death. "I'd die," he answered simply, for the monstrosity of crimson dripping in front of him only bought the one uncherished gift. 

The nen violently dispersed and the effort to dismiss it seemed to take a lot out of Karen. She wordlessly turned to the drawers and began to rummage for another shirt. 

"Karen-san, does Illumi really look like your aunt?" 

She decided that he was worthy of an answer, having demonstrated some sense under her threat. "Actually, I have two aunts, one of them I've never met. Father says that his youngest sister was four when she was kidnapped in an assassination plot against our family that went astray – much to the chagrin of our political enemies. Father escaped with his second sister, the aunt that I knew, who passed away ten years ago. She too died for political reasons. When father bought Illumi-san home the other day, it just felt like the war never occurred, and we were one big happy family again. His eyes were just as warm as my aunt." 

Plagued by guilt, although Leorio was adamant that Illumi was mostly at fault for concealing his gender, he offered his most sincere explanations. "Hey, I'm sorry about all this. It's just that Killua's bastard brother is beyond redemption and you _had_ to be aware of who you were hanging out with." And thus, he proceeded to recount to Karen the disturbing conversation that occurred between the Zoldick brothers during the final Hunter examination approximately a year and a half ago. 

_Assassin's don't need friends; friends will only hinder you and pull you back; we are nothing but puppets in darkness; when we see a person, we should only think: to kill or not to kill._

_…Trust no one, suspect everyone, and you're guaranteed to survive Arcadian politics._

"An assassin kills not because he has to, but because he's accepted filthy money to do so. 'Assassin' is just a glamorous catchword to replace 'murderer'. He was born into a family of assassins, has assassin's blood flowing within him and became professional at the age of three. What I'm saying is Karen-san, is that who you know as Illumi is probably just a filthy charade…an act to deceive…" 

Karen listened the whole time with her eyes closed. Leorio's words echoed in her head and seemed to make no sense at all, serving only to confuse her. How come Leorio's description of this Illumi was so completely different to the gentle, soft and understanding Arammi? He had even comforted her when she confessed that she had killed many people in war when the soldiers under her father's command always found a need to be elsewhere whenever she approached them; he had laughed with her when they inspected the brood of puppies for sale in the Market Square; he had even taught her how to apply makeup in a way to better accentuate her features. A doctor is the master analyst who does not let one detail, one small or feint movement, slip by without noticing and observing. She could tell if someone was lying, and her success rate was known to have surpassed the polygraph machine. Illumi was not lying to her. She detected no malice in his will. He was not the person that Leorio had described – one beyond redemption. 

She laughed aloud, a harsh but untroubled sound. 

_…Fallen Angel…Karen Kalinnan Kastro_

_…Demoness born on the Battlefields of Holt…Royal Doctor in training_

"Our Emperor says that there can be redemption for all of us, that nothing is absolute and life is in our hands for the taking. _We_ make life what we want it to be for it is in our hands where fate and destiny are shaped. Salvation will be granted, but that's only if we want it." 

_Grant me my redemption Sire; take me from the merciless field of blood that I've been wallowing in for the past decade and let me be human again so that humanity won't shy away from me. I just don't want to live alone with the stench of blood, forever tainted on my soul, as my lonely companion down the roads of eternity._

Having said that, Karen stood up and left the room.   


* * * * 

  


Xeno pulled the eunuch back, "Echlan, what are you talking about?" 

"I can speak for myself grandpa Xeno. I don't remember you, and I can barely make out your face." 

The eunuch persisted and shook free of the old Zoldick's grip. "You remember my voice? Remember when you were only four years old this mean old man began to tell you off about your behaviour in the palace when you threw water-bombs at all the other young ladies? And instead of making your apologies like all little nice young girls are wont to do, you kicked the man in the shins, then said - " 

"Take that you stupid old fart, and serves you right not to have a dick…" Kikyou gasped, trembling at the memory of a fairytale childhood that had ended all too abruptly. She covered her mouth with a shaking hand and an overpowering sensation of nostalgia choked her words. 

"Master Echlan? You're still alive after all these years?" 

"Yes my most disagreeable child. I've braved all the winds and storms of Rodimostev II's turbulent years and still kicking today." He gave Kikyou a small bow. 

Kikyou sniffed, her grip tightening almost uncomfortably on Silva's arm. "And you still remember me…" 

"But of course Princess. Your brother is held in high regard in Greater Arcadia. Who would not know of the famous General Kamus Kalinnan Kastro who so bravely defended and held the capital in the Battle of Arcadia Central five years ago? Or his wonderfully capable daughter – doctor and fighter, dubbed the Fallen Angel – who fought alongside the 61st Army and was one of the first to storm and lay waste to the enemy's capital. We do not forget relatives of those who hold such high positions of power." 

"Nii-chan is…still alive? Didn't the Empress get rid of our family?" 

Zeno cut in, looking warily about at the people lingering just a bit too long around them for his liking. "We should find a quieter place to talk about this." 

"Killua, you can go if you want and join your friends." Silva instructed, but the young lad shook his head. 

"Can I come listen?" 

Kikyou hesitated slightly, still holding onto Silva as her guide. She leaned over, earrings twinkling, feeling for Killua. "Maybe not darling. Mamma will tell you everything later ok? And then introduce Mamma to your friends as well." 

"This is where we are staying. Come meet us there for dinner at eight." Silva handed Killua a small slip of paper with the details inscribed in his usual, painstakingly neat handwriting. 

Killua nodded, smiling at the information. "Gon and I are staying at that hotel as well. All right everyone, fun's over, what should we do till dinner?" 

Kurapika flipped through his bundle of flyers and brochures. "We can go to the Arena. Apparently, General Misha has decided to hold a small tournament. Let's see what that's about." 

Zuuchi's ears pricked up at the words 'tournament' and 'arena' and he punched his fist in the air, bellowing a loud "Ousch!" 

"Hey Killua, I also want to say that your mum sure is powerful. Did you see the way she handled that crazy man before?" 

Killua had to laugh at Zuuchi's awe, bordering on admiration, for his deranged mother. At home, people usually flinched for she spoke too loud, or bit their lips in frustration for she nagged. "That's only the tip of the iceberg. You should see what happens when she's _really_ angry, like the time when I was eight and – " 

They happily laughed their way to the Arena with Killua providing much of the laughter, usually at his own expense. 

"Hey Gon! You coming or not!" Zuuchi yelled out to Gon who was unusually lagging behind, lost in his thoughts. The boy snapped to attention and saw that his friends were already some distance down the road. He jumped a little and sprinted to catch up, spurred on by his sudden mental breakthrough. 

"I've got it Killua! I remembered where I saw it!" 

Killua sighed. He knew not to ask otherwise Gon would take him on a strange discourse of abstract logic. 


	7. Chapter 7

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**C H A P T E R S E V E N**   
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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

"Thanks for reserving my seat!" Gon passed the large bottles of water and soft drink to his friends. Killua grabbed his share, ripped the lid off with his teeth and tipped half the contents of the bottle down his throat to quench his thirst. Kurapika reached for his gratefully. 

"You're the lifesaver Gon," he remarked, brushing aside his blonde fringe which had been matted down to his sweaty, hence sticky forehead and wiped his damp brow. He concluded that the reason for the sharp rise in heat and humidity was due to the large numbers of people packed into the arena. Competitors put up their names and signed all waiver forms, giving up their rights to sue for serious bodily injury incurred on stage. By flashing his Hunter card, Kurapika managed to reserve front row seats for all his friends (new ones included) allowing them to possess the most spectacular view. He had to shake the dirt out of his hair several times already, but from the vantage point, he could analyze each and every competitor's attacks. 

Zuchi could not stay still. The late afternoon sun had descended to bask the golden sands of the arena in a fiery orange glow and cast long shadows, stretching them across the full length of the stadium. The atmosphere in the arena was just simply amazing: spectators shouted, cheered, clapped, booed and even threw the odd rotten tomato at a particularly pathetic competitor. It was like being pushed along by a sea of people, joining in with the adrenaline rush of the fights, the deafening roars of excitement - it was ten times better than the Celestial Fighting Tower. Wing sensei had to tell him more than twice already to remain seated. Even the ever cool Killua had lost his usual calm and like Gon and Zuchi, raved his head off at the fights and competitors. 

"The excitement is…contagious…" Kurapika commented hesitantly as he felt his heart unwittingly beat faster in time with the clapping and stomping. Wing could barely hear him above the deafening din, even though they sat right next to each other. 

"LEORIO! WE'RE DOWN HERE!" Gon shouted and hyperactively gestured to get the doctor's attention. The doctor in training peered through the thicket of waving hands and banners and pushed past the multitudes of people to meet Gon and Killua down the front. His eyes were wide with excitement. 

"My god!" he shouted. "I just walked in, and I already want to scream my head off and get onto the sands myself to kick some dirt! How about it? I grab the forms and you guys line up…" 

Kurapika would have none of that nonsensical talk and urged them all to return to their seats otherwise he'd pull out the red eyes on them. 

Wing pushed his glasses firmly back up onto his nose trying to keep his face somber and strict. Unlike the rest of the raving people, he fought hard to remain composed, seated and watched the fights keenly with the eye of a professional. Zuchi realized that his sensei had his 'ten' strongly flaring and gave him a look of questioning and wonder. 

"There is nen all around us," Wing patiently explained to his favourite student, deliberately mouthing his words more emphatically in case his voice was stolen away by the uproars, "and it's been stirred up into a whirlwind that is affecting the emotions of every spectator here." 

"General Kamus said something like that too….about the nen being around us and all, but people were much calmer outside." Killua shouted back with five lollipops in his mouth. Leorio's jaw dropped in horror when he saw this and quickly took out three in case Killua spoke too much and choked on them. 

"It's because _that _man's nen over there is so strong that it's capable of stimulating the nen around us. His bloodlust is thus amplified, and in turn, we too feel his excitement for fights." 

They all turned to where Wing was steadily looking and saw a lean and gaunt man with pale hollow cheeks, dirty black hair that looked like it had been cut with a blunt knife and dull black eyes that glinted madness. He was wearing something that looked like a breastplate sawed in half, leaving the abdomen exposed (query the protection that this sort of armour provides), and underneath that, he wore a beige coloured shirt and loose black pants that tightened at the end to calf high boots. Tied around waist however was a purple shawl that glittered with strange symbols, each symbol a prized jewel under the sun. He casually leaned over to one side from his iron throne to speak to one of the highly stressed co-ordinators of the tournament and laughed aloud when the man scampered off. 

"Wing sensei," Gon began with a curious expression on his face "why can't we see this nen around us? I'm using gyo already but I still see nothing." 

They could all see that Wing was under a lot of pressure to resist the frenzy of battle. The will of the thousands of masses around them mounted, constantly accumulating and it crashed against Wing's flickering ten. It had been liquid smooth and stable before but was now reduced to a faint whimpering like the fluttering heartbeats of a dying bird. Wing gulped and tried to put on a brave smile although the corners of his lips twitched spasmodically. 

"Biscuit-sensei and Netero-sama once told me about Arcadia, especially its capital. This country was one of the first places to discover and develop nen. Their lines of Emperors are all proud and powerful nen users. There are even myths and legends of emperors whose mastery over the nen was so great, that they '_walked the world like gods_'. The explanation behind this is the phenomenon of the 'natural nen user'." 

"Natural nen user? I think I heard my sensei say something like that once as well," Leorio mumbled, loosening his tie, undoing the top button and fanning the exposed chest fervently. In his memory however, Dr Faust had not meant it as a complimentary expression, more of an oath or expletive as he poured over dusty old medical texts and found himself unable to replicate half the feats as the book had been written by a 'natural nen user'. 

Wing swallowed, his eyes never leaving the madman sitting opposite them on the other side of the Arena. When he continued, there was a slight trembling in his voice that he tried to hide by clutching at his sides. "A natural nen user is a person born with nen and can use nen at birth. They are born with full realization of all their hatsu abilities - " 

"You mean they have power to manipulate Emperor time?!" Kurapika exclaimed, almost falling out of his seat in a scramble to hear Wing's words over another roar of the crowd. 

Wing nodded tensely. "Yes, except they constantly inhabit this mode because it's born with them. Full realization of all types of hatsu allows you to clearly see the nen which is around us….and if you're near the Forbidden Palace, you could probably see the 'ghosts' too." 

"Sensei," Zuchi piped up, "can you see the nen around us?" 

Wing pushed his glasses up again as it kept on slipping down his nose which was slick and slippery with sweat. "Yes, only just. My materialization is only twenty percent and Specialization only five percent, but it is enough to see it vaguely." 

Leorio looked to Kurapika and tapped him on the shoulder. Leaning down so that his lips were practically glued to the latter's ear, he half-shouted: "Hey, why don't you give it a shot then tell us what you see." 

Kurapika acquiesced, admitting that he too was overwhelmed by his curiousity, and gradually and allowed his eyes to bleed red. Wing and Zuchi quietly observed in amazement the gradual change in Kurapika's eyes and his increased aura. 

The blonde Kurata saw it. Wing was right; the nen around them was so distorted and chaotic that if it broke free from the walls of the stadium, it would blow anything within a five mile radius away. Yet it was beautiful and beckoning at the same time and its battle anthem sent his finger tips tingling. The nen raced around the stadium at terrifying speeds, rejoicing in its glorious freedom, offering to pick you up from the confines of the mortal body to join with the free-flowing nen and experience experiences that a human body has been denied because of its constraints. The colours continually shifted and were never constant; one moment it was green, then it was deep brown, then yellow, and then blue or jumbled like paint on an artist's palette. It was wonderful and terrifying at the same time and the sensation left Kurapika utterly speechless. 

And all of a sudden, the nen crashed to an abrupt halt and became soft white snowflakes bobbing amongst them. The cheers and roars also died down and Kurapika frantically searched around him in his disorientated state, wondering why the pretty kaleidoscope had stopped spinning. There was an awed hush. 

The man Wing had been caught in a staring competition for the past half hour with raised a thin hand and the crowd likewise looked on, their complete attention straining to hear each and every word that the man had to say. The hand slowly levelled and pointed at Kurapika. 

"You," his voice was dangerous and harsh, "You and me. Right here. Right now." 

Kurapika stomach overturned and his friends froze. It was a challenge. 

After a delayed silence, the crowd burst into violent cheering. "General Misha! General Misha!" they chanted over and over again – it wasn't hard to picture them as fearsome berserker warriors from the northern countries, frothing at the mouth, the beating of swords on their shields the rhythm of war. The nen which picked up around them again was enough to crush poor Kurapika and sweep him away like he was nothing but a twig being tossed around in violent rapids. 

So that man was General Misha, the host of this tournament. He must have noticed his abilities or something; a man with exceptional abilities always recognizes other people like him. 

"Come on," Misha taunted, running a hand through his greasy hair, an easy smile on his handsome face, "how long can you last in that state?" 

A soldier came forward and presented the General with his battle glaive. "Well? What say you? I don't mind you bringing your friend if you want." He gestured carelessly at Wing, "He's last a long time already." 

"Come on Kurapika! Sensei! Might as well have some fun while you're here!" Zuchi leapt out of his seat and tried to tug them up. He'd actually never seen his teacher fight, and this was the opportunity of a lifetime: to pit yourself against one of Arcadia's Ten Generals – and the youngest one too boot! The Celestial Fighting Tower would never offer such an opportunity! Besides, General Misha didn't _look _like a bad man and seemed friendly enough, especially with his disarming grin that had all the ladies in the stadium swooning. There he was, the gaunt figure basking in the flames of the orange dusk, adjusting that sparkling sash on his waist, humming an odd tune that reverberated around the stadium. 

"Let's do it Kurapika. An Arcadian General - I think he will be quite a formidable foe." 

Kurapika could only agree. Although the man looked fragile, being tall and thin, wraith-like, it was the madness dancing in those hollow eyes that unnerved each spectator. But he wanted to try. He could put his motivation down to many things, but he guessed that it was mainly the nen around them which instilled in him a sort of reckless bravery. He nodded, with more firmness this time, and jumped onto the hot, blood soaked sands. He freed his dowsing chain and held the madman's gaze using a calm that he reserved for moments when he was forced to traverse the tightrope between life and death.. 

"Two minutes. That's how long I can hold this state for," he announced steadily (even though there was a small voice in his mind hysterically blabbing on about how he was too young to die) and let the chain swing. Through his intense concentration, he could hear the faint shouts and cheers of encouragement from his friends. Bleakly, it reminded him of funeral knells.   


~*~*~*~*~ 

  


Kikyou so wished she could see the Master Eunuch in front of her but as bad luck would have it, her visor had stuffed up. She wanted to see if the eunuch in front of her still looked like the old man she knew when she was four. How time sometimes has a habit of flying by with years tumbling in the blink of an eye – it had been forty years already since she last spoke with this man. 

"Do you remember what happened that eventful night?" Master Echlan asked, calmly sipping tea. 

They were seated in a high class dining area in The Imperial - a six star hotel that commonly served leaders of other countries. It is also the hotel that all of Killua and his friends were booked into. Had the situation been less fraught with tension, Kikyou would have laughed at the fact that the entire Zoldick family was gathered in one hotel, a family whose strength paralleled a small, well-equipped army. She shifted uneasily in her seat and let her sight trail down to her blurred tea cup resting on its matching saucer as she recounted an evening forty years ago that changed her life. 

"My brother told me to stay in the back room when we heard the screams of the house servants being slaughtered – most likely by a wipe-out squad. Kimmy wouldn't listen and grabbed a sword off the wall so that she could go out and fight as well. I guess she's always been the type to actively stand up for herself. She was gone in the dark before I could follow her. Then the west wing caught fire so I went to the back courtyard to look for Dad because I thought I heard his voice." 

Each fragment of her memory was like a still-frame of one long film whose clarity had not dulled through the decades. It was uncanny how the mind just wouldn't let you forget some things. 

"I don't know what happened. I saw Dad being cut down when I reached the garden, and I thought I heard Kimmy scream as well. Before I knew it, people dressed in black had caught me and ran off before I could even call out to nee-chan." 

The old eunuch solemnly murmured: "Yes, it was later discovered from one of the bodies that the people came from Meteor Street. They must have been sent by the Empress. Your father had been climbing the rungs of politics to rise in importance in the Army, and the Empress felt especially threatened since you are, in some distant way, relatives of the Kalinnan family. Rodimostev II's hold on power was already starting to crumble four decades ago and I wouldn't be surprised if she saw your family as a potential successor to the throne." 

Kikyou felt her husband's warm, calloused hands envelop hers, giving it a small squeeze that urged her to continue. The amount of bitterness in her voice still managed to shock her for she thought she had long ago severed her ties to a country she could no longer return to. 

"I woke up in the dark, and heard a lot of arguing going on. They quieted down when they saw me awake, and one of them thought to humiliate me by treating me as a maid – he told me to make them coffee." Her frown deepened, her voice turned hard and for the first time, they could detect a trace of mirthless humour. "Little did they know that I still had a packet of tarantula dust on me." 

"What was a four year old princess doing with a pack of ultra lethal, tasteless and odourless poison? I don't think Killua is even qualified to handle that yet." Incredulousness caused Silva's eyes to widen at his wife's words. The hand he was holding instantly clenched into a fist harder than steel. 

"Like Master Echlan said, the Empress was a bitch! She told me off for getting mud all over myself, which was _my _business, not hers, and she threw my dog into a pot of burning oil because it 'amused' her! I was going to poison her myself, or ruin her face at least. God, I would have liked to hear her scream in _pain_." She dissipated her anger with a dismissive gesture burdened by weariness whilst the men struggled to hide the goosebumps, calm the tiny hairs on the back of neck and unobtrusively moving their hands to protect their groin for Kikyou had a particular way of _biting_ out the last word. 

"Well, I certainly didn't hesitate to tip the whole pack into the boiling water nicely did as I was told. Two seconds later, they were clawing their throats, their tongues stuck out as far as it could go and by golly they sure had _great _difficulty breathing." 

"They would never have anticipated that you would be carrying poison on you," Echlan agreed. 

"Hell yeah." Silva inaudibly gulped and decided now was nigh time to see his wife in a new light and perhaps cut back on telling her to shut up all the time. When he, a young boy nearing the end of puberty, and his dad had stopped by Meteor street after completion of a large and successful commission, they decided on a bustling noodle shop for lunch. The owner of the shop was Kikyou herself and Zeno terribly admired her management skills: how she handled the hooligans and dangerous folk around the area and managed to earn quite a hefty sum of money. Silva knew his wife was strong and capable, overwhelmingly dominant at times, but he never realized that her resistance and defiance was entrenched into her as a child. To think about poisoning the Emperor's wife at age 4 made her prime candidate as the Zoldick's bride. 

"Well, I worked as a kitchen hand in a pasta store. The old uncle was nice. He gave me meals and a place to stay in return for washing the dishes, keeping the kitchen clean and helping him to serve. After a few years, I had the means of returning to Arcadia, but given the political instability, I assumed that everyone was killed and I had nothing to return to. So I stayed in Meteor Street until I met Silva. It was only until recently that I wanted to return…just to have a look." 

"Actually, Princess Kikyou, your marriage to Silva was arranged when you were three years old." Echlan politely coughed. "You see, Zeno and I have been good friends, since we were young kids. It was a long time ago; I had just begun working in the Forbidden Palace when I met Zeno trying to breach the palace walls for the sake of breaching the palace walls. I spotted him and he tried to run but when I outran him, he attacked, we fought, I wiped the ground with his face." The dainty, effeminate man shot his friend a companionable grin and chuckle. "We've kept in touch all these years, mainly because we were interested in how strong each of us would get over time. I've taught your father _many _times not to look at us eunuchs with disdain." 

Zeno grumbled. "You cheated." 

The Master eunuch took no offence, and actually laughed out loud affectionately. "Why Zeno, if you want to be on the same level playing field as me, you can always castrate yourself." Restraining himself, Echlan laughed behind a delicate hand, showing off his manicured fingernails. Zeno's grumbling only got louder. 

"I've never regarded you with disdain," he muttered. "The way I see it, you treat me with contempt!" 

"Of course not! Otherwise I wouldn't have persuaded the Emperor to let an Arcadian Princess marry a Zoldick on the condition that the Zoldick never accept a job to target the Royal family. I selected the young Kastro princess when I saw her ordering and bossing the house servants around Kastro Court with such an uncompromising tone for her age that grown men shivered. I tried to give you the best Zeno." 

The couple were shocked, then aghast, then found the situation quite amusing. 

"The condition remains," Echlan told Zeno. It was not a question but a reminder. "And in return for the promise of maintaining this condition, I have excellent news to declare." 

Kikyou had to pinch Silva quite hard to make his promise. 

Echlan's red lips pulled into a smile. "First of all, Princess, your wish has been realized. The _former _Empress is indeed screaming right now in the deepest, darkest, foulest dungeon in the Forbidden Palace. The _current _Emperor declared her to be a traitor to this country, and thus has been condemned to suffer for the rest of her life." 

"Good," Kikyou said fiercely, causing the other men to wince again. Echlan chuckled. 

"And second of all, I'll take you to see your brother tomorrow afternoon at Kastro Court. An escort will pick you up from this hotel tomorrow. You'll be pleased to meet your niece as well, but your nephews are currently away training in the army and won't be back for some time." 

"What about Kimmy?" 

Echlan lowered his gaze. "That I'm afraid is the bad news. Kimone killed herself ten years ago." 


	8. Chapter 8

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**C H A P T E R E I G H T**   


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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

  


Karen had wandered around the city for the rest of the day after leaving her mentor to rest, and her mind was thoughtlessly wandering. Her father was going to be in a meeting tonight with a few of the other generals concerning the security of the city especially in the festive season. But the Emperor was so formidable you'd have to be another god to actually get through the outer walls. 

As she walked up the street, the Imperial Hotel came into view. It reminded her that the Chef was taking a holiday tonight thus Kastro Court would probably be silent and empty. She may as well have dinner here. Digging into her bag, she found the Kastro emblem and headed in. 

Attendants all bowed low when she imperiously walked past, recognizing the Imperial emblem she presented to the manager at the reception table. 

"We apologize Lady Karen, but there are other people booked into the Dining Hall tonight," the manager intoned, keeping his voice soft, but firm, low and respectable at the decorated war hero in front of him. He was in the unbearable presence of Karen Kalinnan Kastro, whose title the Fallen Angel still dogged her in times of peace and gave people cause to be wary and cautious around her. 

She shrugged, not too fazed. "Who is upstairs?" 

She referred to the dining hall situated on the top level of the magnificent building. It provided a wide-reaching view of the rebuilt capital city. At night the street lights lit below would illuminate the fabric of darkness like a million stars of the unending universe. It would grant its viewer the most spectacular feel of being mounted on the pinnacle of power with the entire world at his feet 

"Master Echlan bought a few other people up to have coffee. They were still in the middle of chatting five minutes ago." 

No doubt the old fox was arranging politics again, Karen sniffed, keeping the look of distaste from her expressionless face. She vowed never to involve herself in such a dirty sport for a taste of rotting flesh settled in her mouth at the mere thought of the intrigues of politics. After what had happened to her Aunty Kim, it was enough to make her sick through and through. 

"That's ok. Take me to level fifty six then."   
  


Karen walked down the high piled red and gold carpet, reading the numbers on the door. 565…566...567.... Ah, 568. This was where Arammi…no, Illumi-san was residing. 

She stepped forward, hand raised to knock the door when she heard voices coming from within...   


  


~*~*~*~*~ 

  


"Ouch!…Illu-" Hisoka whined at the pain administered upon him. Illumi was rubbing ointment onto the multiple bruises along his arm that the assassin himself had inflicted all afternoon. A fair share of the markings on other parts of Hisoka's body had been given by that blonde haired man with the coloured shades after Illumi had that argument with Hisoka in public. He remained stubbornly quite in his attempt to dissipate the bruised blood. 

"Aww…could you be a bit more light-handed?" he continued to whine, looking intently into the blank expression. Illumi's cat like eyes refused to meet his, and Hisoka found the challenge was quite enjoyable. 

"Don't be angry at me anymore Illu…" 

He sat closer still, close enough to smell the fragrance wafting from that lustrous hair and the intoxicating sweet smell of Ilumi's personal scent mingled with rich perfume. 

Sudden pain cut through his trance. 

"Illu! Not so hard!" he cried out in surprise and jerked his arm back. Illumi gave him a small frown and forcibly reclaimed his arm to continue torturing those purple marks. Hisoka was only more amused. 

"My kitty looks so cute when he's angry," he murmured huskily and leaned forward to kiss away the frown. Illumi growled softly in response. 

"Come on kitty, no more tantrums. You've been taking it out on me all day and a guy on the streets beat me up for you already. Surely that's enough." He pulled him closer still. "I'm forgiven yes?" And like a content lion, Hisoka took to rubbing his cheek against Illumi's, purring with delight. He laughed at Illumi as the assassin's cheeks grew beet red and a few hairs consequently stuck out of the fine mass. 

"Good kitty good kitty," Hisoka cooed, matting the hair down so that it was smooth once again. Illumi stilled and did not push him again. The grin on Hisoka's face broadened. 

"I will fix your hair for tomorrow night?" 

Illumi turned away but nodded, gathering up the smelly ointments back into his small medical kit. 

"You still use that bag?" 

"If it ain't broke, don't replace it," he quietly muttered, still unwillingly to meet Hisoka's gaze though. 

"Remember when we first met, and you fixed my broken arm?" Hisoka slipped back into his black shirt. He distinctly recalled when he had first met Illumi who was only a young teenager then, fighting for money and not honour. 

Illumi's eyes narrowed and his voice hardened. "Want me to break it?" 

"Oh Illu, why are you so cruel? See! I'm not hanging around your brother and Gon anymore. I'm going to give you all of my attention." 

"I don't want your attention." 

"What's that Illu? I think I detect bitterness in your voice?" Hisoka said in a sing-song voice accompanied by a broadening grin. 

Unwilling to let the victory turn sour with a further display of gloating, Hisoka reigned in his overbearing triumphant attitude and replaced it with one of dedicated attention. 

"Let's have dinner Illu. Do you want to go out to eat or take room service?" 

Illumi peered out the window. From the fifty sixth floor, he could observe that he throng of people had not thinned since mid afternoon. "Room service. We probably won't be able to find a place to eat out there." 

Hisoka nodded and headed for the phone beside the bed to place the order. After he had called for a banquet dinner for two and hung up, the clown patted the space beside him on the edge of the bed. 

"Come on Illu. Lets see what we can do with your hair for tomorrow night." Illumi acquiesced. 

"Good kitty." 

"Don't call me that." 

Hisoka's grin was so wide now that you could barely see his eyes. "But you are my kitty…and a very cute one. Now come here and sit by your master….ouch! No claws, no claws!" 

Karen made a face and decided _not _to enter. She decided that maybe she should find a store down in the streets to have dinner instead.   
  
  


~*~*~*~*~ 

  
  


"Millu, I'm hungry." It was pretty rare for Alluka to speak up. He only did so when it was completely necessary, and the situation called for it now. His brother had neglected to feed him since breakfast this morning. "And I'm thirsty too." 

Milluki checked the time on his watch and nodded. The walking was strenuous and tiring, and it wasn't easy to squeeze through crowded areas when you weighed more than two hundred kilograms. He had the responsibility of looking after his younger siblings callously thrust upon him. Obviously, his parents gave no consideration to the types of things he _would_ like to be doing if he didn't have two tag alongs. 

Then, there was also the fact that big bro had paid him hard cash to care for Alluka, and if he didn't fulfil his end of the bargain, not only would he be dishonouring his Zoldick word of honour, the consequences were horrifyingly unthinkable. Looking into Illumi's dead and blank eyes sometimes gave him the shivers, and he would much rather be on good terms with him than to have offended him. 

Alluka had adopted Illumi's impassiveness – Milluki blamed that as a result of too much time the two spent together. You could never tell what Alluka was thinking when he sat there in the wheelchair and gazed intently at the ground. He could create an oppressive silence with his moodiness and his temper swung like debris in a raging tornado. And even then, the debris was more predictable. Like Killua, Allu's hair was also white, but it was much thinner and lifeless, clinging to the sides of this young, pale face giving him an even more fragile appearance. 

"How are you enjoying the weather Allu?" 

It was not a pointless question asked to pass time. The child probably hadn't seen the sun for the past year as he always cooped himself up in the dark room conducting hideous biological experiments on animals. Alluka frowned and looked up. 

"I guess it's ok. The cool breeze is nice." Alluka continued to frown. His brother and sister had literally turned his wheelchair into a trolley to place their goods. Milluki dumped his model sets on his lap, and something was making annoying jingling sounds right next to his ear. His stomach growled again. 

"Can we eat now?" he repeated. 

"That one." Karuto pulled Milluki's sleeve and pointed to a less busy place. Milluki nodded appreciatively. His sister had the keen eyesight. 

"What are we waiting for?" he announced in good spirits and steered Alluka's wheelchair straight towards the restaurant. The bonus with having Alluka around was that people accordingly made way for the invalid. Nearing the entrance of the decidedly nice looking, respectable restaurant, Karuto spoke again. 

"Killua is in there. With his friends." 

"Even better," Milluki huffed and puffed and pushed past more people. "Maybe there are extra seats for us. Make way please, make way please." Milluki elbowed some poor tourist out of his path and accidentally knocked him to the ground with his great bulk. He kept on going straight ahead like a rocket locked on target and did not apologize in spite of the angry curses tossed into the air.   
  


Gon set down his eating utensils wondering what caused the sudden angry hisses in the roving crowds outside. "Hey Killua, is that your sister over there?" He said, eyeing the prim and proper figure of Karuto inside the looming shadow of Milluki. The young assassin first narrowed his eyes, the widened them in fear and realization. 

"Duck Gon! Don't let them see us!" 

"Took late Killua." Leorio sighed, setting down his cup of tea. 

Alluka tried to turn his head around to face his obese brother. "I think Killua is trying to avoid us." 

Milluki flinched and wished Alluka wouldn't speak to him. He had placed the emphasis on the wrong words, a sign of minimal human contact because only Illumi would actually spend time to talk to his younger brother. To Milluki however, it made Alluka the more mad and spooky. 

"We're going in anyway. Here goes. Hey Killu! Can we join your table?" 

Killua inwardly groaned when he saw that Alluka was with them. He hardly even spoke to his younger brother, let alone sit and have dinner with him. Alluka was awkward, and his dramatic mood swings and mad ravings would embarrass him in front of his friends. "No, can't you see the table is full?" he muttered bitterly under his breath. 

"Waiter! Another three seats and sets of cutlery for this table!" Milluki ordered, and shamelessly wedged Alluka's wheelchair right between Gon and Killua. He planted Karuto beside him, and chose to sit himself next to Leorio. The many boxes of models on Alluka's lap began to distress him. 

"Can you get this stuff off me Karuto?" he said and struggled desperately which involved vigorously shaking his frail head from side to side. Karuto knew her brother's fragile temper and quickly put the boxes onto the floor. 

"So Killu, why is this restaurant so quiet?" Milluki asked as a passing question to kill time and tucked the corner of a pristine white napkin into his shirt. 

"Someone arranged this place for us," Kurapika answered shortly. 

"Really? That's great. I'm not going to inquire further so long as there is food." Milluki gave an artificial smile which conveyed no gratitude to return Kurapika's cold civility. Kurapika didn't bother to hide his contempt and soon moved away from the repulsive image of the fat boy. His attention was then caught by a small argument heating up between a waiter and the girl with the wavy blue black hair they had met earlier this afternoon. 

"Leorio, is that another of your sensei's students?" 

"Miss Karen?" Leorio adjusted his glasses and saw that his friend was right. He panicked when the argument begin to escalate and so stood up. "Excuse me for a moment." 

His friends feared the worst with what he was about to do, but he was determined to redeem his image in front of them. 

"Miss Karen is there a problem?" he inquired, using his most rational and calm tone of voice to mediate between the bickering pair. He was suddenly taken aback by the angry, murderous frown hung on her usually serene and pretty face. Seeing his shock and hearing his gasp, the rage left her and she sought to recompose herself. 

"I was just wondering who had the right to reserve an entire restaurant at this time of day," she said, rubbing her forehead to get rid of the frown. 

Leorio bowed slightly. "We had entrée with General Misha before. He wanted some quiet so he booked the entire place." 

"How did you meet General Misha?!" Her tone betrayed her surprise and slight annoyance. 

"My friends were challenged by the General in the Arena this afternoon." 

"Your friends?" Karen peered around Leorio and noted that many people were seated at a large round table. She recognized some of them from this afternoon: the blonde one, the small kid with fuzzy brown hair, Mr Four eye, the kid dressed in green and Killua. There were three extra people that she did not know. 

"Would you like to have dinner with us then?" Leorio offered. 

It's better than having dinner alone, Karen thought to herself and nodded impassively. She waived her hand and dismissed the red faced waiter. 

"General Misha has gone right? He was supposed to meet with father tonight." 

"Yes, he left about twenty minutes ago. Soup is over, and we're starting onto the main meal." 

Karen nodded primly. "That's fine with me. Would you care to introduce me to your friends?" 

"Certainly Miss Karen. You already know about Gon and Killua. He's Kurapika." Karen shook Kurapika's extended hand. "This is Gon and Killua's teacher, Master Wing, and his other student, Zuchi." 

Killua's eyes narrowed again. "Hang on a minute, how do you 'know about' us?" 

"Apparently you met General Kamus this morning?" Karen replied, unfazed by the accusation in Killua's question. 

"Ah yes! We did!" Gon exclaimed excitedly. 

"He is my father." She looked at the other Zoldick siblings quizzically. "And you are?" 

"They are my brothers and sisters." Killua responded as if he were forced to swallow hot coals, having to admit that they were blood relations. "The fat pig is Milluki, the little girl there is my sister Karuto, and that leaves Alluka in the wheelchair." 

Karen couldn't help herself and bore down on Alluka. "You're Illumi's brother?" 

Alluka tried to shrink away from her intense gaze. "He's my big brother," he replied awkwardly. He noticed that her smell was reassuring…friendly…nice…comforting…almost like his brother. 

So this was Illumi-san's brother who had been confined to a wheelchair for four years already, Karen thought, studying the crippled form which surprisingly bore no signs of injury or degeneration. He looked healthy. She reached out to inspect him but he emitted a squeak of fear and tried to pull away. She gave him her smile of trust and reassurance that she'd spent many hours in front of the mirror practicing, to get rid of the old one which made lesser men kill themselves. 

Coating her voice with as much sweetness and warmth as she could muster, she said, "It's ok. I'm going to be one of the doctors who'll try to make you walk again. I promised Illumi-san that I could do it." 

Leorio caught Alluka in a friendly headlock. "You're in luck kid. Miss Karen is one of the best doctors I've ever seen. You should have seen her heal all of my sensei's wounds this afternoon!" 

Milluki's small eyes widened and he appeared to be convulsing. "Don't - " he started but he was cut off by Alluka's scream of madness and fear. The albino child's face contorted in seemingly hideous pain, and the first piercing cry alone shattered all the porcelain tea cups cracks slithered along the restaurant windows. His nen first gargled, flickering like a dying flame before roaring into life and reached out furiously around him. It then began to embrace Leorio. 

"Killu! Get your friend out before he rots and disintegrates!" Milluki screamed, scampering away into the farthest corner away from the shimmering blue nen that he could not see. 

Kurapika, being the calmest of them all, flung his chain into the vortex of nen and it wrapped itself around Leorio. Killua and Gon helped him tug the chain back. Wing covered for Zuchi, who's ten was still too weak to handle the onslaught comparable to a terrible gale. Karuto formed a shield around her brother Milluki and stoically watched as the ferocious claws materialized by Alluka's madness scratched and lunged at her unwavering aura. 

Spinning around them at dizzying speeds was the stuff of Alluka's nightmares. The monsters and shadows of nen all screamed in unison of unbearable torture, anguish, fear and pain. Even though protected by the nen of his sensei, Zuchi sank to the ground and helplessly buried his head in his knees, teeth chattering hard and muscles shivering uncontrollably. Tears were wrung out of his eyes. 

A delightful hysteria kindled within Karen and she found a familiarity standing in the epicenter of a young boy's nightmares and horrors. When she laughed, a hollow and distant sound, the demons and monsters gave wide berth for her and she alone remain unaffected in the midst of chaos. She alone could approach Alluka without fear or harm. 

Seeing the boy feebly throwing his head from side to side also made her pity, and pity made her remember countless number of anguished faces, tear streaked and twisted. Sad people, hurt people with a grief so smothering that it robbed her of her taste for blood. 

Karen held the poor sobbing child to her. She had never seen a boy his age possess so much power, unfortunately amplified by his insanity. It was reminiscent of the Mad General – Misha. The nen gradually dimmed as he sobbed against her chest, raving and moaning about pain and nightmares. 

"Calm down Allu, you're with your brothers and sisters. There is nothing to fear," she murmured in his ear, her comforting hand gently stroking his back to calm him. 

And gradually, the ghouls and banshees, the wails and screams subsided then finally disappeared, leaving only the sounds of Alluka's broken crying. 

"There's a strong boy." Karen began to wipe away Alluka's tears as she would tend to the sores of a hurt puppy. She picked up the last glass that remained intact on the table. "Here, drink the water." 

The boy gulped it down noisily. He breathed hard, panting and finally began to control himself again. 

"Lets get your faced wash." And to the waiters, Karen's voice hardened with authority. "Clean up this mess and serve dinner. Kastro Court will pay for the damage." 

"That, er, that's ok. We will pay for it," Milluki quickly offered, still partially hiding behind Karuto. Karen shrugged. 

"Very well. I'm taking Alluka to the bathroom to get him cleaned up." 

When Karen and Alluka had left, Leorio gave a large sigh, his knees buckled and he collapsed onto the upturned ground. 

"What did I do wrong?" he mumbled, listening to his own rapid, thudding heartbeat. Milluki dusted himself. 

"You shouldn't touch Allu like that, especially without his consent. He's especially touchy and has aggressive mood swings. In short, don't be too over friendly with him." 

"Yes, I will take that advice to heart. God knows that I don't want to see those things again…" Kurapika agreed, likewise dusting himself up although he did notice that his hand was still quavering with the light flurry of a mouse's heartbeat. 

"And lucky you guys were quick about getting your friend out," Milluki continued. "Alluka hides away in his room conducting twisted experiments all the time. I've seen the results of his nen. Anything that it touches just begins to rot and degenerate. It's quite hideous really. Of all Zoldick family members, I don't know why he had to turn out like that. Let's see if my models are still ok…" 

The people ate their dinner in respectful silence around Alluka afterwards.   
  



	9. Chapter 9

  
**C H A P T E R N I N E**   


* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me. 

**Summary: **It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are _other_ reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important. 

**Rating:** M 15+ 

* * *

Killua flopped onto his luxurious bed. It was thanks to Gon's Hunter card that they were able to reserve these rooms at festive times as such. So much had happened today and the softness of the bed invited him to close his eyes and drift into pleasant dreams. Gon was sitting cross-legged on his bed, awake and counting his fingers. 

He held up his index finger and hummed in thought. "First, Illumi dresses up as a girl to win some sort of diamond jewellery box for the General Kamus." 

Killua held up two fingers. "Second, General Kamus might be my mum's brother. Hey, that would make him my uncle!" The realization that Zoldick how had an extended relative dawned on Killua like a picturesque sunrise. Gon pounced on him while he was inattentive and the collision sent them tumbling around on the bed. 

"Hey Killua! That would mean that Karen-san would be your cousin!" 

Killua nodded dumbly with wide eyes beneath Gon, struggling against his weight. "I have an uncle and a cousin! Wow!" He then frowned however, thinking again. "But Milluki and the others don't know, not even Illumi." 

"Hey Killua." 

"Yes?" 

"The strange man with your grandpa…Echlan…he called the General 'Kamus Kalinnan Kastro'. Would he be related to the Emperor then?" 

Killua pushed Gon off and sat up as well. He scratched his chin, giving the matter serious thought. 

"His surname is Kalinnan Kastro and the Emperor's name is Rodimostev Alanis Kalinnan. They share the 'Kalinnan' but it's placed in different parts of the name. We could go back to the museum tomorrow and ask the Porter - " 

The knocks on their hotel door interrupted Killua's plans. Gon leapt out of the bed and rolled to the door. He turned the brass doorknob and opened the door by a crack to see who it could be. 

Gon turned to his friend. "Killua, your Dad is here." Without waiting for Killua's reply, he opened the door to let Silva in. 

"Dad, how'd you know we - " Silva however, waved his hand, dismissing the question as if Killua should have know what sort of methods he could have used to track him. 

"Do you have anything to do tomorrow afternoon?" 

Killua looked at Gon. Gon shook his head and shrugged. 

"Umm…looks like we're not doing anything much." 

Silva nodded approvingly. "Good. You are going with us to meet your uncle tomorrow." 

"Uncle…you mean General Kamus?" 

Gon perked up at the opportunity to ask. "Silva-san, is General Kamus part of the Royal family?" 

Silva studied the boy in front of him. Judging by his appearance and Killua's past description of his friend, he had to be Gon. After hearing stories about this child and his feats of stubbornness in the Hunter exams, he had presumed that he would be the reinforcement type. Now, studying the aura around the young boy, he knew his predictions were correct. 

"Yes, Kikyou and Kamus are on the 'fringes' of the royal bloodline. That's why they keep the Kalinnan name, but they put it in the middle, not the end of their name." 

"Does that mean Killua's royalty then, like a minor prince?" 

"No. Killua's mother married a Zoldick. Hence she technically abandoned her Kalinnan name." 

"But I have Kalinnan blood in me though!" Killua protested. 

Silva picked Gon up and put him on the bed beside Killua. He then sat on the bed opposite and made himself comfortable. 

"Does that concern you Killua…" 

Killua averted his eyesight and his cheeks flushed pink. "It's just that Master Wing was talking about the 'natural nen user' this afternoon, and he said that only the royal family can possess such powers." 

"I should like to sit down and properly meet your sensei. He has taught you nen and I'm pleased to say he did a thorough job." 

"Dad, you know anything about a 'natural nen user'? Master Wing says they have the power of gods." 

"I always thought that it was an exaggerated myth and never believed that nen actually flowed around you in Arcadia Central. But upon entering this city, I've been feeling this constant pressure against me. It's a cold, nasty feeling. Echlan said that it is the will of the dead which affects the nen around us. I don't think I can stay in this city for more than two weeks without becoming losing my cool. " 

"Cold? Hisoka said that this morning as well. He was shivering so badly that he's stopped harassing us at last." 

"Hisoka…" Silva's friendly and open look turned serious. He had heard about the infamous killer who slaughtered people for simple pleasure. "I wouldn't approach him yet. He would still be difficult for you to handle." 

Killua growled in annoyance. "_We_ don't approach him! _He's_ the one who's been tailing us." 

Silva chuckled. "If you were a real natural nen user, then you could probably manhandle Hisoka even if you were ten." 

"You personally know of any people who have this ability?" 

"I know people who can manipulate Emperor time for short periods of time. They are quite fearful as it is. I would hate to know that there is someone who can constantly wield this power." 

"Have you met the Emperor yet?" Gon quipped up. 

"No. Probably tomorrow night, or probably the day after. But Echlan might not see the necessity of informing the Emperor about our presence. Hopefully your older brother won't do something stupid to attract attention to us…" 

"Oh, that reminds me. Miss Karen said that Allu had a good chance of recovery." 

"Who's she?" 

"She's uncle Kamus' daughter, therefore my cousin." Killua smiled at the idea. "She's nice and friendly as all doctors are supposed to be, but I can tell that she's killed before. You probably saw her briefly this afternoon when mum beat up her mentor - the crazy doctor who was throwing those scalpels at Leorio. Leorio said that her nen is especially powerful when it comes to healing, so I guess she's a great doctor. She sure could make Allu look like a sane person again. He almost killed my friend before." 

Silva shook his head and sighed. "What happened this time with Allu? I thought Millu and Karu were looking after him." 

Silva sounded disappointed, ashamed of calling Alluka his son. Just after three years of professional life, the boy failed in a simple, straightforward missions and was rendered a quadriplegic. It was a disgrace to the Zoldick reputation. Personally, he had long given up on the frail Alluka, who usually remained hidden in his dark room. Because his mood and temper was so volatile, Alluka was in no condition to perform jobs, let alone continue with training. Silva gathered that something must have befallen Alluka in his last mission that left him mad and delirious. And frustratingly, Illumi could not say what the cause was either. 

"Leorio was being over friendly with Alluka," Killua's voice wandered back into this thoughts. "Allu's nen rendered Leorio's suit into tattered bits, like he'd been hit with a bucket of acid. Allu would have killed him had we not saved him on time." 

"Illumi taught Allu nen so that he could preserve his body from deteriorating. Your brother hoped that he could find a capable doctor to cure him. I wonder if I was wrong to let your brother persuade me into letting Alluka live. Nen is a reflection of the heart and the will. If Alluka can barely sit through a dinner without threatening the lives of the people around him, then his nen would be hard to control, if it can be controlled at all. And if it reflects the will, then it could be disastrous indeed." 

Gon mouth went dry and he shivered slightly remembering those odd shaped creatures, born of imagination, trying to rip them apart with their hideous sharp claws and razor-edged teeth. He could remember their large gaping mouths, wide enough so much so that he could peer down their dark and large throats. 

"But Miss Karen said she could heal him, so maybe we should be glad. If he had not preserved the health of his body, Miss Karen said that even if she could fix the spinal nerves, he might not be able to stand up on his own for another year." 

Silva's frown took on unprecedented darkness despite Gon's reasonable objection. "I don't know if I've ever approved on anything that Illumi has done. Look what he's doing in Arcadia! Killu, did you know that your brother has been taking on private work? He's doing extra jobs outside the ones that I commission to him." 

A lightbulb of wicked mischief lighted up above Killua's head. His eyes turned into that of a cat, and a pair of furry ears and a tail materialized. 

"Of course" he replied, the lie coming so naturally. This was payback time for all those rotten threats his brother used to give him. "He said that had received such jobs for years. He told me that he was going to save up enough to leave home because he couldn't stand and tolerate us anymore." 

Silva blinked. "What about his job as a professional assassin? Or is he going to go into business against us? That little conniving traitor! I raise him, teach him, and now he seeks to betray me!" 

Killua shrugged trying to keep his smirk and glee hidden from his expression. His dad's sudden anger was unforeseen. He didn't expect such a big reaction and so tentatively pushed the story a bit more. "He said if I could leave home, why couldn't he? You couldn't possibly imagine those horrid things he said about you dad." 

"What. Horrid. Things?" 

Unlike Killua, who was having too much fun stabbing his brother's back, Gon heard the distinct change of mood in Silva's voice - from the casual, outgoing one, to the morbid and cold authoritative interrogative style of speech. 

"Oh, I couldn't repeat them to you dad. He said that you were a greedy hog who wouldn't give him his share of the pay for the jobs he does. Then he said that you were a fat and lazy worm who would sit at home and order him around…" 

Gon wanted to clamp Killua's mouth shut before he seriously planted the thought in Silva to kill his eldest son. The more elaborate the lie, the angrier and more murderous Silva looked. Maybe he really should interfere. 

"Um, Silva-san, how is Killua's mum?" Killua broke off and looked at him in surprise. 

"She cried herself to sleep in our room. Master Echlan informed her of her sister's death." He gave a sigh. "I guess she should sleep through the night though. It's been such a hectic day. First Illumi, and now this bad news." He paused and for a moment looked like he didn't know whether to ask the question or not. "Killu, do you know how long Illumi has known Hisoka for?" 

Killua looked back blankly at his dad. As if he had the means to find to track where his brother went and what he did. "There were together when we did the hunter exam. Perhaps they met there?" 

"Hisoka's probably the one influencing Illumi's erratic behaviour. Illumi's teaching is perfect however. No one can change the way we taught him to think." 

The truth was that no one and nothing should detract him from his fate as an emotionless puppet that would do his ultimate bidding. If he abandoned his life as an assassin, he would know no other way of life. Unlike Killua, Illumi was never given the opportunity to rebel and was not allowed to know of anything else other than what Zeno and himself had taught him. Silva suspected that Killua had therefore embellished his lies to a certain degree, but there was also some truth in what his successor had said. If Illumi was taking private jobs, then ulterior motives were indeed at heart. 

"I better go check on your mother now." Silva stood up and headed for the door. There was much to think about and discuss with his wife and dad. "I'll meet you here tomorrow afternoon." 

"Goodnight dad. Regards to mum too." 

"She'd appreciate that. Goodnight boys."   
  
  


~*~*~*~*~*~ 

  
  


"You're late Misha." Kamus did not look up from the detailed map of the city he was studying. The mad general stood in front of him with a wide grin on his gaunt face. 

"You really should have joined me at the Arena today. Some pretty interesting people have arrived in town." 

"Oh?" 

"I met a kid who had control of Emperor time. And I met Hunter Chairman Netero's student as well. We had a quite a bout for about five minutes." The tall and lean man put down a bloodstained glaive down on the table and took his seat opposite Kamus. His mad gaze never left Kamus' face. 

"Don't look at me like that Misha. I will not fight you." The older man dismissed his murderous intentions with practised indifference. "Let's view the plans again for tomorrow night. There are going to be record crowds." 

"I spotted a few rebels tracking me today." Misha adjusted the sash around his waist as he spoke. "I noticed Liam lurking in the crowds as well." The madman deliberately paused, taking his time with his report, and took a sip of his tea. "It's all in your grasp isn't it Kamus? You find that boy to impersonate Kim on stage to lure the leader of the rebels out and make him show his face in the capital then capture him before the coronation festival is over as your gift to the emperor. It's the perfect plan and ultimate tribute. Now I wish I'd thought of it." 

Kamus lowered his head slightly and his eyes twinkled like hard stars. "He's shown himself has he? Good! Our country cannot afford to be split apart by civil war after all our efforts to save it. I must stop him before he does become a real threat." 

And in his heart, he only felt the slightest regret for capturing the man named Liam, who would have become his brother-in-law had Kim not killed herself. But the madman sitting opposite him continue to bestow upon him a challenging gaze. 

"Liam has allied himself with dangerous people." From the folds of his clothing, Misha retrieved a letter. "This is what he found on a spy that we captured. You recognize the symbol?" 

Kamus glanced at the piece of paper and his eyes bulged. 

"The fool! This will certainly earn him the death penalty! To establish connections with these people…" his voice trailed off as he glanced at the strange symbol that was reminiscent to the lashing strokes of a black calligraphy pen. It was an underground organization that was established in the beginning of Rodimostev II's reign. They were rumoured to have conducted experiments specifically designed at finding the weakness of the natural nen user. It meant that Liam had the intention of killing the Emperor. A grave and treacherous mistake indeed. 

"We have to inform the Palace Guardian about this. There are only the two of us Generals in the capital. We have no time to call back the others, and we certainly don't want the rebels to know that we are aware of what they are doing." 

"Should I add more patrol guards then? Around here, here and here?" Misha pointed to several places on the city map, his brow creased in concentration. 

"No. That would alert them prematurely. We should replace them with the Palace elite instead. Carry this out in two hours." 

Misha nodded. "What about Liam? Do we capture him tomorrow night, or have you something else planned?" 

"Liam will know that Arammi…no, I mean Illumi…was hired by me. He'll confront me, but not tomorrow night. Have you heard any information about whether the rebel's reinforcements will be arriving in the Capital or not?" 

"Informants tell me that they are currently being smuggled into the city. I think they have plans to invade the Forbidden Palace. The date? I'd say, perhaps three or four days." 

"What about weapons? Have they been smuggled in too?" 

"Yes. We intercepted a shipment today, but they are R-14's. Old, pre-war weapons, nothing to worry about." 

Kamus nodded impassively. "It will be a death wish to enter the Forbidden Palace and disturb the emperor. On second thoughts, we must inform Master Echlan as well." 

"Done that already. But what happens to your plan if Liam catches your bait before they launch an attack against the Palace?" 

At this, Kamus laughed out loudly. "There is no need to worry about that Misha. Have you ever heard of the Zoldick family?" 

"I quite admire their skills in assassination," the younger general responded smoothly. 

"He's the eldest child of the Zoldick family. I think there is no need to worry about Liam catching him." 

Misha shook his head and chuckled. "I can't wait to see his face once he finds out that Arammi is a boy. Let's just hop he'll die from the shock to spare him from what I've got in store for him." 

Kamus paused as he stood up. "He'll die either way. I hope the Emperor grants him a quick one." 

"I don't think so." Misha took two steps closer to the older man. "I think twenty minutes in the Cell at least - so we can extract any other relevant information we might need to exterminate the ungrateful scum." 

Kamus almost felt pity for the deranged general in front of him. Misha was young and had been driven mad by the ten-year war. His power came from his periodic insanity and his own ingenious creation - wards and runes - that could block the emission of nen. He was infamously known as the Mad General. The Cell was a single room in Kastro Court designed by the young man that could break the will of the strongest man in one hour, guaranteed. 

"We'll discuss that when we do capture him." 

Without anymore to say, Kamus spun around and left the room. He could feel Misha's bloodlust affect his nerves and senses sending tingling shocks along the back of his hand. Come to think of it, Misha couldn't be any older than Illumi. What a pity to loose one's mind at such a young age. He glanced at the servant at the door. 

"Show the General out." 

The last he heard was the crazy mocking laughter of Misha behind him. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
Karen was in a bright mood this morning. The sky was clear, the air was fresh, the merchants were slowly setting up their stores and carefully laying out their wares. The party last night in the Market Square probably meant that most of the residents in the city were suffering from hangovers this morning. Which made it unusually quiet, especially at this time of year, but she was delighted by the way she could hear her own steps ringing on the cobble pavement. She lopped over a fence effortlessly in her new dress, a dark red one lined with gold roses on the edges, made of light velvet with laces tickling her shoulders. Her dad would probably faint if she accidentally tore it, but she laughed out loud, thinking how back during the war, she was as dirty as the sewer rats.  
  
Sprinting down the street with such speed as to stir the leaves on trees, she finally saw the hotel the Illumi-san was staying at. But then a thought halted her exalting mood. Where would Illumi go after tonight? What would he do once his job for her father had ended and they had retrieved aunty's jewelry box that was going off as one of the prizes? And this thought made her stop completely because there was the horrible possibility that she would never see him again. Suddenly, the clear blue sky and the chirping birds around her on this fine morning could not lift the sullen mood clinging heavily to her slim shoulders. The more she thought about being alone again with no one to babble to, play make up with, giggle under the trees in the park...she felt her eyes begin to sting. Her steps halted when she saw two figures outside the Hotel lobby...it was Illumi-san arguing with another man. For one moment, she truly felt the distance of their worlds. He was an assassin born in darkness who began killing since he comprehended the world around him. The people he saw around him were judged by only one thought - do I need to kill this person? And her world? It was a world in the light, working for the Emperor to rebuild the shattered kingdom into a magnificent empire once again, free of corruption and the dirt and grim of humanity. She would lend her hand to the Emperor to create an empire bathed in the purest, strongest light whose aim was to fight the scum that lurked in the world of darkness. Her destiny was to help the Emperor create a utopia, a heaven on earth whilst people like the Zoldick family strove to keep the world wrapped in darkness, shivering in fear at the very thought of assassins in their midst.  
  
Illumi saw her standing just a way bit off from the entrance to the hotel on the quiet, empty main road and stopped pummeling Hisoka for acting rather inappropriately in public.  
  
"Ohayo Karen-chan!" he called in greeting.  
  
"Karen-chan?" Hisoka frowned and squinted at the figure. He saw a slim and pale girl of medium height with a mass of wavy blue black hair dressed in a striking blood red dress. He concentrated on her shapely face, took in her fine features and felt himself suddenly caged by many, many old and forgotten memories.  
  
"Hisoka! Stop gawking and get here!" Illumi demanded. In part, he felt relieved right now, for Karen immediately told him that she knew the truth about his identity, and that she had even briefly met his family near the Market Square yesterday. He appreciated her frankness, and admired her for she continued to treat him in no different way than before. The slight warmth in his heart almost bought a small smile to his pink glossed lips.  
  
Hisoka cautiously stepped towards Illumi and decided that he had not recognized the wrong person. Karen-chan was the same Karen Kalinnan Kastro...only she was now a full grown woman with a pair of eyes that betrayed her loneliness and misery. Illumi tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. Hisoka secretly smiled at these small habits that Illumi had adopted over these years.  
  
"This is Karen-chan. She's General Kamus' daughter. This is Hisoka, my ...... " Illumi balked suddenly, not certain at what Hisoka meant to him. The clown stepped forward with a hand extended.  
  
"I'm his secret gay lover." he smirked, shaking Karen's hand.  
  
Hisoka doubled over in extreme pain when Illumi kneed him 'down there' and proceeded to land a punch so heavy that he flew over the national park to the other side of the city. Karen, red faced and flustered, looked on in shock. Illumi quickly turned to her.  
  
"It's not true! He's just my hairdresser for tonight!" he heatedly began, but Karen's amused giggling likewise made his face turn red with embarassment and humiliation. Little did she know the many curses and shouts of baka were echoing around in Illumi's mind. The assassin humphed off the momentary burst of shame and held his nose up hight like a haught Arcadian Princess.  
  
"Come on Karen-chan, lets get going to the Auditorium." he took her hand once again, like they had always done when they first met for even though Karen knew that he was an assassin, she was still as much of another sister to him, and the strength of their friendship bond allowed him to believe that. Karen felt a small tickling on her palm of the hand which Illumi held and was about to speak before she realized that he was tracing words on her palm. She stared at the road ahead and concentrated.  
  
~There...is a ....man....following...us.~ she hid her alarm impecably with a cold gaze and continued to read those words.  
  
~ He has....been...tailing me....since the...competition.....He is.....a...strong....nen user.~ She believed him. If she couldn't feel the presence of someone stalking Illumi whilst she was with him, then he was definitely beyond her power. She suddenly felt vulnerable and frightened. The slight scratchings against her palm resumed.  
  
~I think.....your.....father....is aware....arranged this.....deliberately....I...will deal....with him.....you will......be....safe....home.....go now.~  
  
"but..." she started before Hisoka reappeared before them, rubbing his bruised cheek, his gaze never leaving Illumi's face.  
  
"Hisoka. Can you accompany Karen-chan back to Kastro Court? Karen-chan forgot to get me the dress and headpiece that I'm supposed to wear tonight. She will need help carrying them."  
  
"But...."  
  
"Very well." his eyes narrowed, glinting slightly gold for he too felt the presence of someone watching them. Illumi's blank eyes told him to guard the girl carefully.  
  
"Yes yes hime-sama (princess), I'll do it straight away. Anything that you ask." he deliberately spoke loudly with a casual tone, but to Illumi he was grossly overacting.  
  
Hisoka almost felt himself suddenly lifted off the ground. Karen had gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him up. Her eyes were blazing with anger.  
  
"What did you just say?"  
  
He put on an innocent expression. "Anything that you ask?" he repeated  
  
"No! Before that!"  
  
"Hime-sama?"  
  
"Yes! Don't you EVER say those words again! There is no more royalty aside the Emperor in this country, and those words are NOT permitted. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" she hissed with hatred at the sudden memory that those words bought back. Aunty Kim used to have two young eunuchs in training by her side before she died, and they followed her like puppies, chirping their little formalities 'yes hime-sama', 'at once hime-sama'.  
  
"Yes hime-sama." Hisoka playfully responded and felt another bruising pinch on his arm.  
  
"Go now!" Illumi ordered with a little frown on his face. Hisoka would not get moving until he had kissed the frown away, leaving a red faced and frustrated Illumi glaring at him with a few strands of hair stuck out of place from the fine cascade.  
  
The presence disappeared.  
  
===================  
  
  
  
"Dad, I thought that this meeting was supposed to take place this afternoon!" Killua groaned pulling on his socks. Silva had entered their room early in the morning and awoken the boys up for Master Echlan had pressing matters and needed to change the schedule.  
  
"Echlan wouldn't say what was going on, but he said that this morning was the only time everybody has free today. It wouldn't be hard to guess why everyone will be occupied heh?"  
  
"Arrangements for the competition tonight?" Gon pulled up the zipper on his green jacket and tugged carefully at his sleeves to straighten them.  
  
Killua grunted. "More like the security issues for tonight. Any bets a million people will pack into the Auditorium tonight just to see big bro."  
  
"To bother a General over mere security matters? Come on Killua, you can do better than that." His father chided, helping him pull his top down. "You've grown Killu, these clothes hardly fit."  
  
The young assassin grunted again to express his agreement. "I would suppose that there might be something to guard against if someone like a General is involved. What kind of threat is there?"  
  
Silva would sigh, but he knew that was a great discouragement. "First, we are in the capital city. And the Forbidden Palace sits in the center of the city. Next, the Emperor lives in the city…" that was one prompt too many, but it finally dawned on his young son.  
  
"You think someone's out to get the Emperor! But…"  
  
"Every country that has just survived a war invariably does not celebrate peacefully afterwards. Usually, a political power vacuum is created and lots of people struggle for the reins of this power. It is highly likely that there are underground organizations that seek to overthrow the Kalinnan dynasty for their own gains and benefits. You really should have thought of that straight away Killua."  
  
The young boy gruffly glanced away, aware of his father's disappointment and also the fact that he too should have thought of it too without the assistance.  
  
"Killu! Are we ready! Master Echlan is waiting for us!" the males in the room winced visibly as the shrill voice cut through their ears like a hot knife through butter. Kikyou burst into the room and felt around for her husband. Milluki still did not have the chance to fix up her visor, and Silva advised her that it would most likely malfunction again with all the nen around them. Gon's jaw dropped.  
  
"You look really nice this morning Kikyou-san." He commented sincerely. She was dressed in a fine fitted brown silk shirt with a black, flowing gypsy skirt that was also laced with glittering brown vines sporting pastel pink flowers marked in the center with dark yellow gems. On one of her wrists sat a sparkling bangle of yellow diamonds dazzling in the strong morning light, to go with the pair of earrings yesterday.  
  
"Anata, is Killua properly dressed? In something decent?"  
  
"Yes mother, I'm dressed decently." Killua stretched. A loud tear accompanied.  
  
"What was that!" Kikyou demanded.  
  
"Umm…nothing…" Killua hastily checked himself to see where the rip came from. He discovered a large gaping hole beneath his armpits and looked to his father in despair.  
  
"We can do without the outer jacket Killua, just the shirt will do." Silva hastily took the pale blue top off, leaving the dark maroon coloured shirt underneath. Kikyou stumbled forward, her hands waving unsteadily in front of her searching for her target.  
  
"You've outgrown your clothes Killu? Oh my poor baby. If you only stay at home, mama will take care of these things for you." She exclaimed devastatingly. Silva held onto her before she could trip over the bags on the floor which were only vague colours to her near non-existent eyesight.  
  
"He's dressed fine Kikyou. Now lets get moving." He offered his arm for her to grasp on tightly so that she wouldn't walk straight into the wall. 


	11. Chapter 11

"I don't have much time for this Master Echlan. You've been dancing in circles all morning, and my patience is wearing thin. Why have you scheduled an appointment with me?" Kamus looked onto his train of house servants with disapproval. Early this morning, they began to set up the large dining table that had not been used since the beginning of the war and Chef was extremely busy in the kitchen stirring up all sorts of breakfast delicacies, their delicious aroma wafting to the hall making Kamus realize that he hadn't had a proper meal in the past two days.  
  
The eunuch gave a slight smile, his red painted lips deviously curled at the edges.  
  
"Is the young lady in this morning?"  
  
Kamus was fed up. "No Master Echlan, she went off this morning to find Arammi."  
  
"She can catch up on the news later then." Echlan bowed slightly and gave a small cough. All house servants snapped to attention and lined against the far wall. The old eunuch then stood straight and regarded the busy General. "I would be pleased to announce to you Kamus, that your long lost sister Kikyou Kalinnan Kastro has finally returned to Arcadia."  
  
Kamus barely managed to keep the cup of coffee in his hand from crashing to the ground. He mastered control over his trembling hand and stared hard at the well dressed eunuch.  
  
"What are you saying?"  
  
"Please bring them in." Master Echlan ordered his younger apprentice Koran. The young eunuch had been training under Echlan since the day Kim had died. Koran used to serve his sister with another young eunuch…whose name seemed to escape him right now. Koran was tall, lithe, lean and inherited the deadly skills of Echlan. Had he been a real man, he would have been able to share the status of General with him at the ripe young age of twenty seven. Koran's pale face disappeared from view as he bowed low before his mentor and General and turned around to repeat the orders to the house servants.  
  
General Kamus didn't know what to believe or indeed, what was happening. He had spent the entire night finalizing the new route for the outer palace guards to patrol and finally finished his reports and other miscellaneous administrative work before deciding to stalk on a few hours sleep in time for the competition at the Auditorium tonight. He thought that Master Echlan had made the cruelest joke when he spoke of Kikyou's name, because it was well known that she was most likely killed the night the assassins came to destroy the Kastro family. He heard a multitude of footsteps approach and stood up slightly in anticipation.  
  
A middle aged man, around the same age as himself, perhaps slightly younger, with flowing silver hair reaching his waist stepped into the room behind the young Koran. On his arm was perched a woman who appeared to be blind. When he saw her face, he was instantly reminded of his own daughter, and knew that Echlan could not possibly be lying. Behind her was a grossly fat boy, one in a wheelchair, a young girl that could pass off as a porcelain doll and the two kids he saw on the street the other day.  
  
Kamus stood up straight with a weary smile on his lips. He hadn't smiled so sincerely for years it seemed and his cold heart thawed ever so slightly by the warmth. "Welcome home Kikyou." He outstretched his arms and embraced a sister he had not seen for perhaps forty years.  
  
Kikyou would have tearfully returned her brothers embrace had she been able to shed tears. Her thin trembling fingers reached up to feel his face, one that had changed so much through the years that she could no longer recognize him.  
  
"Gods Kikyou, what happened to your eyes?"  
  
At this question, she beamed brightly. "Isn't the wound just brilliant? My precious, darling Killua inflicted these one me before he fled from home about last year."  
  
The General calculated the priorities quickly in his mind. He abandoned his scowl at the assassin family and raised his voice. He indicated for the large group of people to seat themselves around the large table whilst suspiciously watching in the corner of his eye Master Echlan disappear into another room with another old man with dirty silver hair. He turned to the  
  
"Immediately send for Doctor Faust."  
  
Koran bowed low, his lightly blue hair flowing down with him. "Yes General."  
  
"Ni-chan, let me introduce to you. This is my husband, Silva."  
  
Both men eyed each other with caution and suspicion, trying to assess each other's power from the simple flow of nen emitted in their normal state.  
  
"And this" she continued hastily "are my children. This is my second eldest son, Milluki, Killua, Alluka and Karuto. Bid goodday to your uncle children."  
  
Kamus heard several discordant mumbles of greeting and good mornings and gave them a wry grin. He recognized Killua from yesterday, along with his friend Gon. Killua's siblings were…interesting. Milluki's pudgy face and small eyes barely squeaked danger and he was already helping himself to large slices of cream cake. Karuto looked like the silent type with a large pair of almost unblinking eyes fearlessly looking back into his. She did not touch the food until her mother nodded and gave her assent. She laid down onto the table the most hideous looking doll which she had carried in her arms when she arrived and Silva glared at the offending object but declined to comment. As to the pale boy in the wheelchair, he looked mighty uncomfortable.  
  
"Are you unwell Alluka-kun?"  
  
Alluka flinched and awkwardly shook his head from side to side. "It's getting rather…difficult to breathe in here…and cold…" his teeth chattered slightly to demonstrate his feelings.  
  
"Milluki! You were supposed to have properly dressed your brother!" Kikyou scolded.  
  
"I did kaa-san!" Milluki shot back with annoyance. "He's just doing this to get attention. Besides, big bro's the one who usually take care of Allu."  
  
"Big bro…Illumi….is he your son too then?"  
  
"Yes, a most reliable assassin he is too."  
  
To a certain extent, that relieved one of Kamus' worries. He knew that his daughter was hanging around with not only a Zoldick family member, but at least he was her cousin. Alluka's wheezing worsened.  
  
"I'm going…to…go outside…"  
  
"Alluka-kun, you're obviously affected by the nen here. Kastro Court has at least three hundred years of history, so it's particularly strong here. Just release your ten, zetsu, ren and hatsu together and you'll be protected."  
  
Alluka was unsure of whether to trust his uncle and he unwittingly looked to his father for reassurance. Silva gave a slight nod and consequently he adjusted his nen and felt the pressure lift off from his chest and he was able to breath in deeply again. Killua became puzzled.  
  
"There it is again, almost just like Hisoka yesterday. Why don't we feel it uncle? Or are you going to lie to us again and tell us that we're insensitive?"  
  
Kamus laughed out loud at Killua's penetrating gaze and his sister's shock at her son's behaviour. He put one hand on Kikyou's shoulder to calm her down and turned to Killua with a slightly apologetic look on his face.  
  
"You're right, I did lie to you the other day. You probably have found out by now that the pride of Arcadian nen development is the product of the 'natural nen user'. Arcadia Central's nen IS structured around the natural nen user. The closer your ability to realize all your hatsu potentials – reinforcement, manipulation, materialization, control, specialization and emission determines how much the nen affects you. The closer you are to reaching Emperor time, the more sensitive and intuned you are to the nen around you. Of course, people who live here aren't bothered by it because our own nen automatically makes adjustments to protect us. It's very good training actually, but tourists like yourself would not know this small secret."  
  
Gon hummed a bit in thinking. "Does that mean that Alluka would have greater nen abilities than Killua and me then?"  
  
Killua bit down on his fork when he heard that and Silva glanced at his paralyzed son.  
  
"To be frank with you, yes. It may be that Alluka-kun has some natural nen abilities. Perhaps he can master Emperor time for short periods, like your friend in the Arena yesterday?"  
  
Alluka felt uncomfortable with all the eyes watching him. He was habitually cooped up in his room, free from the gazes of the world, no mocking looks on his inability to even walk or shower himself, no one to criticize him. But now, even his father was regarding him with interest, and he felt himself in fear.  
  
"What…is a natural..nen user?" he managed to stutter.  
  
Kamus thought about this only briefly. "A god who would walk the earth and feel it tremble beneath his feet. A god so powerful that all the obstacles of the world around him must fall to his whim. A very powerful figure indeed."  
  
"Is the Emperor a natural nen user too?"  
  
"That I'm afraid is classified information."  
  
"Doctor Faust is here." Koran intoned and introduced the mad doctor to the Zoldick family.  
  
They all recognized each other, and the stares were none too friendly.  
  
"Faust, this is my sister, Kikyou. Please see if you can fix her eyes."  
  
Fausts' jaw dropped open. "Your sister? That is unheard of General. I thought…"  
  
"Please just do as I ask. I don't want to have any arguments this morning. These are Illumi's family members, understand?"  
  
"The entire Zoldick family in Kastro Court having breakfast together?! The Emperor might not be pleased to hear things as such." Faust grumbled and took to examining Kikyou's wounds.  
  
"Hmm…these look quiet old…2 years I reckon?" Killua lowered his head an nodded.  
  
"But it's clean and quick…and the nerve endings….hmm…."  
  
His hand swiped across her eyes with a speed that impressed Silva. Faust quickly and painlessly recreated the same wounds Killua had made two years ago and with the perfection and finesse of a Royal Doctor reattached each and every nerve ending, capillary and sensors within rapid fractions of a second with his glowing green nen. He stepped back and looked into a pair of coal coloured eyes that reminded him instantly of Karen's eyes.  
  
"There we go. Simple task." He muttered and bowed low to Kamus whilst Kikyou quietly marveled at the ability to see colours with a 20/20 vision again. "If I may, I should like to go catch up on some sleep now…" his unsteady gaze caught Alluka's frightened ones and with the interest of a predator, he was immediately by the young boy's side.  
  
"Ah, you're the one Karen-chan must be talking about." He started feeling Alluka's limbs, squeezing his arms, tracing his hands down his back, flexing the leg…  
  
"Don't touch me!" Alluka whispered tearfully, but he managed to keep his emotions in check.  
  
"Most fascinating indeed. To the lay doctor, they would have thought that you only broke your back yesterday, given the fine preservation of your muscles, the strength and rate of your heart flow…and general good health. I didn't believe what Karen-chan told me last night about your condition…but… hmmm…what have you done to maintain your growth?"  
  
"Faust, perhaps later?" the General suggested. The mad doctor nodded fervently.  
  
"I'll read up a bit more about the spinal nerves…and get some rest too. I think I'll be able to operate on you tonight kiddo."  
  
"At last!" Milluki blurted with relief, specks of food spilling from his lips as he spoke. "I don't have to put up with his invalidity anymore! You hear that Allu? You can finally dress yourself at last."  
  
Hurried steps raced towards the dining hall. Gon, having a keen eyesight, spotted a figure approaching them from the courtyard.  
  
"Father!" Karen called out as soon as she saw her father's familiar figure in the hall which opened to the large, expansive stone courtyard. "Father! Oh gods, there's a man who's been following us for the past few days!"  
  
She panted heavily and came to a halt to blurt out everything that Illumi had told her, and how she could no longer feel his presence when she came home.  
  
"I know Karen honey, just calm down."  
  
"You mean it's true then! You've arranged all this! You're using Illumi-san as bait!?"  
  
"What's this about Ni-chan?" Kikyou demanded.  
  
Kamus sighed. "Karen, this is your Aunty Kikyou Kalinnan Zoldick. This is your uncle and all your cousins."  
  
"Aunty? Uncle? Cousins? I'm confused."  
  
"You do remember that story I told you about…"  
  
"Oh! The aunty that was kidnapped a long time ago! But…Illumi-san is my cousin then?!" she burst out laughing and gave Kikyou a big hug and kiss.  
  
"But it should have been obvious! He reminds me so much of Aunt Kim anyway."  
  
"Hey Karen-chan, I've checked. There is no one following us." Hisoka commented, making his way easily across the courtyard.  
  
"Oh, let me introduce. Father, this is Illumi-san's hairdresser for tonight – Hisoka."  
  
Koran's green eyes sparked at the mention of that name. He made his way across from his side of the room where he was standing dutifully, waiting for orders, and clasped both hands on either side of Hisoka's face.  
  
"Hisoka! You're alive!"  
  
"My god! Koran! You're alive too!"  
  
Karen looked at both of them suspiciously. "You know each other?" 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
Hisoka stared at the eunuch his age with wide eyes of shock and disbelief. He held onto Koran's hands and looked deeply. The fine light blue strands, parted to one side, and the rest of the thin long strands loosely tied into a long ponytail behind him with a silver clasp. His green eyes reminded him of the leaves and shoots in spring time, set on a face very similar to his own with slanted eyes, high cheekbones, pale features and thin lips that were polished with pink lipstick.  
  
Koran, apprentice to Master Echlan, likewise studied Hisoka's features and felt himself ready to burst into tears.  
  
"You're alive!" they both cried out joyously and hugged each other so tightly that nothing could separate them ever again…except for one person.  
  
"Koran! What's all the fuss about? You're supposed to be…"  
  
Hisoka gave a frightened squeak when he saw Echlan standing in the doorway. "Why aren't you dead!" he exclaimed.  
  
The master of all eunuchs in the Forbidden Palace looked long and hard into Hisoka's face before his own expression darkened to that of a thunder cloud.  
  
"Hisoka-chan! So you've finally returned to accept your punishment for raiding the wine cellar!" he declared sinisterly that made everyone's hairs stand on end. Hisoka gulped.  
  
"How can you remember that! It was 16 years ago!"  
  
"I remember everything." Echlan stressed testily.  
  
"Koran was in it too! He was the one who broke the lock!" Hisoka quickly blurted out. The young eunuch looked at the clown in shock.  
  
"Hisoka! How could you betray me thus!"  
  
"Ah ha! So you WERE involved."  
  
"Eek!" both shrieked and dashed off in opposite directions.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" the master Eunuch unleashed his silks and they danced around the unfortunate victims, finally entangling them tightly and were pulled back towards the menacing old man, whose strange aura was flicking violently around him.  
  
"You two are in trouble! You'll spend the next two weeks washing out the latrines!"  
  
"What!" Koran objected. "I'm the second in command of the Eunuchs! I can't be reduced to cleaning toilets!"  
  
"And I'm not even an eunuch! Damnit you old fart! Get this ridiculous silk off me!"  
  
"Of fart heh? Well let me remind you that there hasn't been an extra wrinkle on my face since twenty years ago! You were a brat, and always a brat! It was all because Princess Kim accepted you without requiring that you be castrated! Come to think of it, now would be a good time to finish what we didn't get done." He turned to Karen. "My lady, if you will lend me a scalpel and some blood stopping medicine."  
  
Hisoka's face turned various shades of blue and his struggles increased a hundred fold.  
  
"Oh my god! Let me go! I happen to LIKE being a real man! Koran! Help!" he yelped in utter fear as Echlan tested the edge of a scalpel on his thumb.  
  
"That's ok Hisoka-chan. It will be quick and painless. Then I'll teach you all my skills and arts too. What's your manhood compared to all the power that you can lay your hands on, short of being a natural nen user?" Echlan closed in with the sharp instrument. Hisoka could only look on with appealing eyes to the group of rather amused people sitting around the dining table happily sipping their morning tea.  
  
"My manhood is everything. Please, please, I don't want this power."  
  
"Nonsense Hisoka-chan. You'll make a good eunuch and help us protect the Emperor. You were once an Arcadian, and now that you have voluntarily returned, I'll pass on all my secrets to you as a reward."  
  
"No, really, I have been doing quite well all these years. Where is hime- sama! She'll set this straight."  
  
Everyone feel uncomfortably silent at this request. Hisoka, along with Koran had been the two eunuchs in training under Princess Kimone sixteen years ago. All that time, he did not know that his hime-sama had passed away, but he quietly guessed at what happened by everyone's solemn silence. Koran's eyes were red when he spoke.  
  
"She died Hisoka, not long after you fled."  
  
"I see." He said simply, eyes downcast in mourning. He gave a little sad laugh. "It's been so long ago that I don't even remember her face anymore."  
  
Echlan sighed and retrieved his silk which somehow fitted snugly in his wide sleeves. "We saved a picture of her Hisoka-chan, the one with you two sitting by her side. It's in the mausoleum in the back courtyard. You may pay your respects to her there while you're at it."  
  
"Can I go too?" Kikyou spoke up. She never knew what her sister grew up to look like. At least with her picture, she could visage the old Kastro family in her mind at last. Kamus nodded and offered her his arm.  
  
"I haven't been for a long time myself. Let me accompany you then." Kikyou took her brother's arm after receiving Silva's permission, but frowned slightly as Killua and Gon also began to follow them.  
  
"Um…we're curious to see how much big bro looks like Aunty Kim."  
  
"Ah, that reminds me. Karen-chan, come along as well. We'll need to borrow your aunt's ceremonial headdress and robe as well." Kamus ordered. His daughter's eyes widened.  
  
"Is it really necessary? Illumi-san has a really nice dress to wear already and – "  
  
"Please don't argue with me Karen." Kamus cut her off abruptly. "If my plan is to work, that man who has been following you must suffer so much shock that he will fumble with his plans so we can finally catch him."  
  
"But father," Karen walked quickly to keep up with her father's large strides through the halls "how could aunt Kim's old clothes shock anyone?"  
  
"The man's name is Liam. Do you remember him?"  
  
Karen's face was blank for she had no recollection, being only four when Aunt Kim passed away. Hisoka and Koran on the other hand, had grim expressions. They remembered a man with golden brown hair parted in the middle, a man who always sported a pair of trendy tan coloured glasses and a roughly shaven face. They remembered a strong man of good nature and a friendly grin who taught them the intricacies of fighting whenever he visited Kastro Court.  
  
"Liam…hime-sama's lover. I thought he was also an officer of the Imperial Court. Why do you need to catch him, like you're talking about a criminal?" Hisoka murmured.  
  
"Because he blames the Kalinnan emperor for Kimone's death. He avoided his duties during the war, and we suspect that he might have been working with the enemy, but that is not proven. However, since the declaration of peace, Liam and his brood have made their vengeful hatred of the Emperor quite clear with several acts and attempts of assassination, trying to stir up dissent amongst the general population and instances of rebellion in the far reaches of the Empire. For the foolish, petty reason of Kim's death." Kamus shook his head regretfully. "He doesn't even truly understand why Kim killed herself…all that struggle for almost two decades…what for?"  
  
"So he's here in this city somewhere?"  
  
"Yes. Informants first warned us of a conspiracy during the Coronation Festival where crowds will be larger than normal with a great variety of people from all over the world. In order to be certain, we had to find a way to lure one of them out into the open. That was when I hired Illumi. It was actually more of a coincidence that I met him wandering about in the Market Square. But he gave me the incentive to start this beauty competition, and we put the publicity into making sure that each wall of every building in Arcadia Central had his face plastered on it." Kamus' gaze hardened. "Sure enough, young Illumi did cause a stir in the city and guards spotted sightings of a man them hanging around in the crowd pits during the open trials, a man whose features were very similar to the picture that we gave. As you well know, the finals are staged indoors at the Auditorium, tickets are required for entry and guards will be placed at every possible exit."  
  
"He won't go, even if he doesn't suspect that there's a trap." Killua failed to see any logic Kamus' idea. But his uncle laughed out loud, a harsh and terrible laugh.  
  
"Exactly, but he's going to go mad wishing that he had, especially after what I'm going to get Illumi to wear tonight. Liam knows that I hired your son Kikyou, but he'll become frustrated, mightily disorientated at how on earth I managed to find someone that looks so alike to Kim. He knows it's a trap, but he can't help it. He'll either track down Illumi or confront me. Either way, he'll be caught."  
  
"Aren't you going to allow for the possibility that he will come prepared when he confronts you ni-chan?"  
  
"Of course not! What's he going to say to his rebel friends? Help me confront the General because I'm interested in this woman that he hired? No, he'll have to act alone and without consulting the other rebels."  
  
The mausoleum came into view. It was nothing as the spooky image that Killua had conjured in his mind when Echlan talked about the tomb. It was standing in the broad daylight, a fine, graceful piece of architecture of columns allowing maximum light to high the altar in the small building.  
  
"Nee-san's body…."  
  
"There is no coffin. Kim…self immolated." Kamus had difficulty uttering those last words, but pain was so common to him these days that it didn't affect him like it used to.  
  
Koran took Hisoka's hand, and like two little boys, they cautiously made their way to the small shrine across the cobbled courtyard, through the still miniature forest of bonsai plants, towards the place of utter oppressiveness.  
  
"Hime-sama's nen…."  
  
"All these plants around here don't need watering or managing. They sit here for all four seasons without changing. It's all around us Hisoka…" Koran murmured sadly and took him up those shallow steps and to the altar, placing a fresh bunch of peony's in his hand. Hisoka thought that he heard the faint sound of a melodious hymn echoing around him, a song of requiem, yet the voices sung higher and higher, reaching for the glorious heavens. He laid the flowers on the dusty altar and whispered a simple prayer, then raised his head to look into the large portrait of Princess Kimon Kalinnan Kastro.  
  
Everyone suddenly felt something around them, almost a fear that grasped their stomachs in a cold iron grip.  
  
"Hisoka-chan!" Koran cried out in alarm. The others, alerted, rushed to see what had happened, only to see Hisoka collapsed in a heap at the altar.  
  
Bright flashes of repressed, long forgotten memory hammered in Hisoka's mind when he saw her face again. A regal and beautiful face with a flowing river of raven hair, eyes of coal, a slim nose and a small mouth, all set on a glowing pale skin. In truth, he freaked at the very similarities between Princess Kim and Illumi, so much that his patchy memory became a violently jumbled mess. And then suddenly, he felt the effects of fate and destiny pulling at him, and he struggled aggressively against the pull, yet could not deny it. It seemed like everything was arranged for him long ago…  
  
He could only mutter Illumi's name before he passed out.  
  
"Oh my god. Killua! That's your brother there in the picture!" Gon exclaimed, nudging Killua to get his attention off the fallen clown to his surroundings instead. Killua stood there, jaws open, hung wide with astonishment. Even Kikyou gave a terrified gasp and rushed forward to examine the portrait closely.  
  
"He looks like nee-chan…exactly." Kikyou stammered in wonder. How could two people look so alike when they lived worlds, thousands of miles apart?  
  
"General, Hisoka must have been hit by a tidal-wave. I'll take him to the rest rooms." Koran hung Hisoka on his shoulder and bowed.  
  
"Killua, follow Koran, or return to your father. I just have a few more things to discuss with your uncle." Kikyou commanded. The kids ran after the eunuch.  
  
==========  
  
"Hey Koran, what's a tidal-wave?"  
  
The young eunuch regarded the boys with slight curiosity, but answered their questions dutifully. "You felt something before? A sickening feeling?" seeing Gon and Killua nod prompted him to continue.  
  
"That was the nen around us, rising up like a big wave and hitting against us. That's why we call it a tidal-wave."  
  
"Why do you get these waves?"  
  
"Only one person can take this fabric of nen around us and use it. That's the Emperor. Something must have happened to upset the Emperor." He sighed and pushed open a pair of light wooden carved doors. Inside were elaborate pieces of tapestry and embroidery hanging on the walls, a small round table in the center of the room with several wooden round seats, and a hard bed at the other side of room. Koran laid Hisoka down gently on the bed and went to fetch a basin of water and a towel. He indicated to a large oak drawer on the right end of the room.  
  
"Could you just take out a uniform for me? The dark blue one in the second drawer." Gon pulled out the bureau and found identical sets of clothes neatly folded into squares, all lying on top of the other.  
  
"Any one will do?" he asked.  
  
Koran nodded and set the bowl aside and drenched the towel. Wringing it dry, he began to dab it gently on Hisoka's face with a strange look in his eyes.  
  
"You envy him don't you." Killua noted.  
  
Koran flicked back aside his long aqua hair and breathed in deeply.  
  
"Us eunuchs hardly ever get to leave the Forbidden Palace. I entered into service when I was only five, and it was only last year did I really get a chance to walk along the streets of Arcadia Central when the Emperor went on a parade. Hisoka on the other hand…he must have seen the world out there, met all sorts of people, done anything that he wanted. Here, hand me those clothes."  
  
"What for?"  
  
Koran rolled his eyes as if it was painfully obvious. "Can't you just see the hideous quality of Hisoka's clothes? I'll lend him these for now, then I'll probably make him something decent…geez…"  
  
Whilst halfway through removing the clown's costume, Hisoka awoke and looked at Koran steadily.  
  
"Put these on Hisoka-chan, and we'll rush out of Kastro Court without Mentor knowing and drink out of any pub that we want!"  
  
Hisoka's smile widened, but then faded when he remembered his duties and groaned. "Shucks, I can't Koran. I've got to fix Illu's hair for tonight and…well…we haven't even decided which style he wants."  
  
"Karen-sama is taking Kimone-hime's headpiece to him. If you don't remember how to fix it on, I certainly do."  
  
"Oh no you don't! I own all exclusive rights to brush Illu's hair!"  
  
Koran's sparkling emerald eyes flashed in challenge and narrowed. He spoke softly. "Oh really? We'll see who's skill is better then."  
  
Hisoka deftly fumbled with his buttons and patted the long robe down. "Hey, perfect fit." He commented. Then he glanced at Koran. "You know, we could probably pass off as twins."  
  
Koran nodded in agreement and started to part Hisoka's hair to one side. "Now, we'll just need to give you a ponytail too…and you'll be a genuine eunuch once more." He shambled to the drawer and from another bureau pulled out a length of hair similar to Hisoka's hair colour. Clasping it on to the tips of Hisoka's hair and applying a bit of nen to make it stick, Hisoka had suddenly sprouted a ponytail.  
  
"Lets go find Karen-sama so we can escort her to the Auditorium."  
  
"We'll say that the General ordered us to for the protection of his daughter." Hisoka added. Koran stared at him with wide eyes.  
  
"Brilliant and very plausible lie Hisoka-chan. You have improved."  
  
"More than you think." The clown responded arrogantly. "I'm a henka type, so it's only natural that I can lie so…fluently."  
  
"After we fix Illumi-san's hair, you will show me the city?"  
  
"Of course Koran-chan." Hisoka glanced at the two kids. "Places where no children are allowed of course…or unless Master Echlan decides to tail us and catch us before sunset."  
  
Killua humphed. "Now you know what it's like to be stalked." He muttered.  
  
Killua and Gon decided to return to the dining hall to finish off their breakfast and noted that Alluka was already missing. Silva informed them that Dr. Faust and his cousin Karen had already begun his operation on Killua's younger brother. Seeing nothing to do after finishing their breakfast, both boys decided to scour the Market Square again for bargains and rarities. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
10:30pm  
  
Illumi felt tired and exhausted. It begun with a hectic day with many people entering and leaving his room, some asking for autographs, others asking for interviews, all of which he declined. He only saw two people, Hisoka and another eunuch called Koran, who fought over the rights to do his hair. Eventually, both did one side each, and after much adoration and admiration (although he noted that Hisoka did look unusually pale), they reluctantly left.  
  
And about the contest finals? He won of course, and was hurrying to Kastro Court to receive his payment and take his leave from the country. Doubtless his parents knew already what he was up to, and things would turn ugly if they confronted each other.  
  
That thought made him frown. This was supposed to be his territory. He arrived in Arcadia first, then Killua and Gon appeared to ruin his time, along with the untimely news that his entire family were wandering the streets of the Capital. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?  
  
~ I hate this life! Let me out, Let mE OUT!~  
  
His head felt numb and almost tripped over those long silken robes. His footsteps were silent and he floated along the cobbled courtyard like a ghost. In his mind were bells ringing frantically, making his heart beat faster unwittingly. So lost in his own thudding heart and confused thoughts, he almost bumped into someone.  
  
He glanced up and stammered. "Fa…father."  
  
"So Illumi" Silva began harshly with a murderous look in his eyes. "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
~No!~  
  
"Earning money Father." He tried to respond politely knowing very well that his father considered him ridiculous in his attire. The clothes that Hisoka had bought for him to wear he hadn't even removed yet, so desperate was he to quickly leave the country.  
  
"Are you in a hurry?" Silva's tone was filled with spite.  
  
"No Father."  
  
"How long have you been doing this?"  
  
"Doing what Father?"  
  
Silva sighed. "You wish to do this the painful way?"  
  
And then, some strange burst of rebellion and courage surged into his confused mind and dominated the control of his movements. He heard his own voice harden defiantly and began to feel himself dying. "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."  
  
Silva's expression did not change but his aura certainly did. It enveloped itself around his eldest son, choking and gagging him with his own malicious will, then when he son was stunned with perpetual fear, clear for all to see in his usual monotonous face, he dragged the disobedient assassin and threw him into The Cell.  
  
It had been exactly 20 years since Illumi screamed from a bone-chilling terror and from the nightmares now tearing up his mind, only to be silenced from the absolute and oppressing darkness around him. He could feel his life gradually begin to slip from him and strangely, he welcomed it with tired outstretched arms.  
  
========  
  
Hisoka suppressed his own breathing down in the dank sewers. Koran's handsome face was wrinkled slightly from the smell and was looking not too pleased. They pressed their fine clothes against the wet and cold walls as a marching of steps passed them, heavy boots splashing specks of filth against them. But the feet passed unnoticed and the magician nodded at his friend who in turn looked at Killua and Wing. Quickly glancing at his watch, Hisoka noted that it was already 2 am, which meant that they had been stuck in the sewers for four hours already. At approximately the announcement of Illumi's win outside the Auditorium where a wide screen was set up and surrounded by the masses of unfortunate people who couldn't score tickets inside, Kurapika, Zuchi and Gon were kidnapped right beside them by strangers. Hisoka immediately took off after the person who dared to steal his prey, and Koran only grudgingly followed.  
  
Travelling underground in the sewers was an arduous process because there was a heavy and intimate patrol of guards. Sometimes, their shifts would intersect in the filthy maze and they would have to wait for a good half hour before they figured out the pattern and made their way across without being seen. Killua was clinging to his 'in' with his life, knowing that should he let his aura slip just that little bit, and every rat and beggar with a rifle would be charging towards them.  
  
"Light!" Koran mouthed and pointed with a finely manicured finger to a bend in the tunnel. They heard voices and felt a strong and steady presence. Quieting their own beating hearts, they strained their ears and listened.  
  
"Face it Liam, you're more interested about Arammi than our revolution." An arrogant voice sneered. "Look what your lust has done to you! Tonight, you have risked the lives of our brethren just to satisfy your curiosity and lovesickness."  
  
"Just shut up Janis!" a deep baritone threatened dangerously. "I've seen this kid enter and leave Kastro Court at will. And this boy here may have connections with the Madman."  
  
"So what Liam? You plan to use them? They are but only kids."  
  
"Open your stupid eyes! They're nen users. You there! What is your relationship with General Kamus?"  
  
"I am not saying anything!" Killua's eyes lit up. It was Gon's voice. With the stealth of a professional assassin, he edged forward and caught a glimpse of a small room formed at the bell shaped dead end of the tunnel with a dirty lamp hanging down giving off a sickly yellow light. He saw a man with dirty straw coloured hair with a hideous scar just above his left eye. He was wearing a pair of dark yellow shades and looked like he hadn't shaved decently in days.  
  
"You are not an Arcadian, kid. If you tell us, we will let you go."  
  
"In nine hells you will." Kurapika's cold voice spoke up without much fear. It was a calm voice tinted with mocking and disdain. "You're rebels and there's a large price on your head. The Generals have spread a massive net around the Capital to capture you that your chances of escape are drastically slim. We know this is your hideout, you think you'll let us walk free with this information?"  
  
Liam threw his head back and laughed out loud. "How old are you kid? 16? 17? Yet you speak with the airs of an old hand in the business of treachery and danger!"  
  
Kurapika didn't know who one earth this guy was, but he sure as hell was not happy. The evening had been joyous and boisterous, and he knew he had missed out on the spectacular fireworks. He coldly gazed at the man. "If you must know, I'm a fully qualified Black List Hunter. I specialized in being a bodyguard and collecting information for my former boss."  
  
"Former boss?" Liam sounded interested. Kurapika sighed loudly to indicate his annoyance.  
  
"The Nostrad Family. Are you done with the questioning now? I'd like to make the most of my evening before you decide to ruin it."  
  
"Ah!" the arrogant voice of Janis rang out. He was a wiry man, short with ivory grey skin and dirty, oily hair brushed back hastily. He was clothed shabbily in black. "An underworld mob boss! Speak! What's your connection with Misha! Don't you deny it, our informants saw you at the arena yesterday."  
  
"I need to go to the bathroom." Zuchi squeaked.  
  
"I'm thirsty. I really need something to drink." Gon complained.  
  
Liam and Janis both gaped at the hostages before them, their eyes bulging. Three kids who knew they were captured and might not live but weren't the least bit frightened, nervous or simply scared. Liam scratched his head and sighed. Perhaps Janis was right, maybe he was more interested in finding information about Miss Arammi than he was concerned about Kamus' plans. He felt tired and closed his eyes.  
  
"You are right. I can't allow you to live. I can give you five minutes to make peace with yourselves." He offered quietly and then turned to his rotting wooden table in the makeshift headquarters.  
  
Killua became alarmed. Kurapika, Gon and Zuchi were tightly bound with nen reinforced chains, sitting on rickety wooden stool. Janis stood in the far corner juggling dangerously sharp knives. Wing pulled Killua back and the four of them huddled to arrange their plans in silence.  
  
Hisoka pointed to Killua and then at the dirty water around them which reached a good way up their calf. At first, Killua thought that Hisoka was likening him to the scum and muck around them, but the plan suddenly clicked. The magician then pointed to Koran and with two fingers twiddled around in the air. He then took out a card and slashed the air around him. Last, he pointed to Wing and curled his arms so that he looked like he was carrying bundles beneath his arms. All four of them smiled in consensus and quietly took their place.  
  
Killua knew that Hisoka was in charge of the killing. Koran was the fastest of them, his speed taught to him by Master Echlan. He was in charge of rushing in there and grabbing the three of them out whilst Wing was supposed to catch Gon and Zuchi so that Koran could carry Kurapika. His part of the plan?  
  
Killua grinned wickedly, and in an instant of a second, he sent multiple shock waves of his electricity into the water and jumped onto the stone ledge for safety. Liam and Janis were instantly electrocuted and stunned by the sudden attack. Hisoka's pansy gum had immobilized Liam and he went for Janis, his card glinting red as they struck target. Koran was already dashing down the tunnel with Wing with the hostages. Killua felt himself being picked up by Hisoka just as his thoughts steadied and in no time, they were back out in the open. The rebels didn't give chase but they didn't stop to check. They ran and continued to sprint until they were safe inside the walls of Kastro Court.  
  
In one of the many open courtyards, they all sat down panting hard. Koran was least affected, retaining his elegant poise and posture as he stood watch over the lot of them.  
  
"How did you do that!" Killua exclaimed, looking at Koran with new-found respect. "I didn't even see you leave your spot and you were already down the other side of the tunnel already!"  
  
Koran smiled coyly, pleased with the comment. "It's what you get by being a eunuch kid."  
  
That made Killua balk however. He was sure that Koran had not only amazing speed but also superior nen, perhaps even above Hisoka's skills….but to trade his manhood for it….  
  
Koran laughed out loud. "Exactly! Would you trade your very essence of manhood for this power?" he found it amusing indeed.  
  
"Can we all get a shower at least? I stink like crap, literally." Kurapika wrinkled his noise. Koran sniffed himself and nodded fervently in agreement.  
  
"This way."  
  
Nobody noticed the frown on Hisoka's face as he glanced at something he was holding in his hand.  
  
==========  
  
6:00 am  
  
Wing, Kurapika and Zuchi followed Killua and Gon in exploring the large outer palaces of the Forbidden Palace. Kastro Court was famous for its open courtyards and spacious rooms which had no doors, only two walls and only extended into more open courtyards, just like the breakfast area this morning. They left all the night's events for Koran to explain to the General.  
  
Killua and Gon did their best to explain to them all that General Kamus had told them about using Illumi to lure the rebels. Kurapika on the other hand was fascinated to know that Killua had an extended family that was of royalty, and that Kikyou was a princess of an old dynasty.  
  
"Hey!" someone shouted at them in the stillness of the grey morning. They swung their heads to the direction of the voice and saw General Misha waving at them. He ran towards them.  
  
"Do you know what place you're treading on?"  
  
"Uh oh.." Zuchi muttered "Are we in trouble?"  
  
"Hey Kurapika! I heard what happened to you last night." The madman casually commented, his handsomely effeminate face contorted into a vicious grin. "So, what do you think of the leader of the rebels?"  
  
Kurapika didn't even need time to ponder on that question. "News travels fast doesn't it? What I think of the man with the glasses? He is a man with a lost soul."  
  
They had all begun to follow the gaunt general, who lead them to a strange door on the side of one of the many palaces in Kastro Court. Everyone suddenly found it hard to breathe. The two guards who stood on either side of the door gave them wide grins.  
  
"Well, you can feel assured that revenge is on its way. We knew all the time that the rebels were hiding down in the sewers, they must be thick if they thought we didn't know that. But you are wrong about Liam. He has a soul, and I will be the one to break it."  
  
Gon didn't listen to a single word for beads of fear and sweat began to coat his forehead. "What is this place?" he muttered.  
  
General Misha tightened the knot of his brilliant shawl on his hip and weighed them all with his eyes, glinting a void of madness. "This" he began softly and seductively "is the doorway to hell. Not too far within is The Cell. It will be the place where I will break Liam's soul."  
  
He instructed the guards to open the doors and a burst of icy wind cut at their unprotected faces.  
  
"Gon, Killua and Zuchi. You will NOT enter this place." Wing said firmly, adjusting his glasses as he peered into the gloom, his aura blazing brightly. "General Misha is right. In front is Hell."  
  
"Anyone care for an inspection?" Misha chuckled lightly, stepping into the eternal and oppressive darkness with ease. One glare stifled one of the guard's protests.  
  
"I will." Kurapika's eyes shimmered crimson, and without hesitation, he took one lead heavy step into the dark tunnel. Wing was beside him also, a challenging grin on his lips.  
  
The corridor less than ten meters in length, and was even partially lit by hanging lamps. But each step weighed a ton, and as they got closer to The Cell at the end of the corridor, their steps became heavier, breathing was constrained and wild panic threatened to take hold of their minds. Misha strode forward confidently and burst open the doors leading to the cell. Kurapika's eyes widened when he saw blood splattered all over the walls of the small room, dripping and fresh. He lost his control of his fears and bolted back towards the brightening day, fear and horror wailing, shouting in his mind so loudly that he didn't realize that it was Wing who dragged him for the rest of the way.  
  
He retched when he was back out in the open and felt a chill in his bones, so eternal that not even the warming sun could thaw out the violent tremblings in his muscles. Leorio was also here, having spent the night observing the operation on Alluka, and reached out to touch Kurapika.  
  
"Leave me!" the blonde haired man almost screamed and then realized he was panting like there was no tomorrow. The nightmares got to him after he saw the hideous sight of carnage in The Cell. Wing was also struggling with his inner demons and gave Kurapika a weak smile.  
  
"We are in one piece. Not broken yet." He whispered. Zuchi handed him a tissue to wipe his dampened forehead.  
  
"What happened Kurapika?" Gon asked concerned. Kurapika's eyes returned to their normal colour.  
  
"There was….someone in there." He gasped weakly, accepting Leorio's help to stand up on shaky legs.  
  
At the same moment, General Misha emerged with a dark look on his face, and in his arms, a bloody and heavily wounded person. From the tatters of his clothes dripped warm blood.  
  
"Big bro!" Killua gasped with fear and panic.  
  
Misha glared at the guards. "One of you follow me. I want to know EXACTLY what happened."  
  
The two guards looked at each other, did janken and the one who lost quickly ran after the General who had already stalked away. Everyone else caught up.  
  
"Leorio, fetch Doctor Faust and Karen. Killua, take your friends back to the breakfast area, immediately." No one dared to argue with General Misha when he spoke in that tone of voice. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
  
Kikyou calmly gazed that the wrecked porcelain plates around her, all blasted into thousands of pieces as her brother finally lost his temper. It was really quite inappropriate to loose one's composure in front of other guests. Kikyou had noted that Killua was with his group of friends, and a few more. Silva stood beside her, not giving much scrap about Kamus' ravings either.  
  
"You said that I could treat Kastro Court like my own home, brother." She replied coldly. Kamus' eyes danced angry hellfire.  
  
"Yes I did Kikyou, but that room is The Cell! You can't just use it without understanding or knowing what it does!"  
  
"Hm?" Gon looked puzzled. But Killua felt his shock and astonishment numb his senses.  
  
"Mum…you…threw big bro into that terrible place?" he stammered quietly.  
  
"No, I did." Silva spoke up. "But it was our idea, yes. You see Killua, you were totally spot on about your brother turning traitor to the family. I will not tolerate a disobedient son."  
  
At the back of Killua's mind, it wondered why Silva had given him such a big exception, being the most disobedient of them all, but he was too horrified by another thought. "Dad…I…made all that up! Big bro didn't say half those things I told you."  
  
"That's not the important part Killu, it's what he has become." It was a vague and ambiguous answer but Zeno shook his head at Killua and told him not to speak no more.  
  
The Guard and General Misha stepped into the room. Their faces were calm, cold and impassive. Misha nodded to the Guard, and he stepped forth to be questioned.  
  
"What happened? Just tell me everything, from start to finish, preferably in less than one hundred words." Kamus sat down wearily and closed his eyes.  
  
The Guard cleared his throat. "Silva-san put Illumi-san into The Cell last night at approximately 10:30pm. He…" he hesitated, but quickly recomposed himself. "Didn't stop screaming until only just two hours ago."  
  
Kamus clenched his eyes shut so hard that they hurt, but he had to open them to face the situation. "Eight hours….and he's still alive? That's impossible." He muttered wearily. Misha's smile was disturbing however.  
  
"No General, I know how he survived in there for eight hours when even the strongest men break in half an hour. Neither Karen or Doctor Faust can heal him because the boy's wrapped in the Void."  
  
"Impossible!" Kamus roared, bringing his fist down onto the sturdy wooden table. Misha's eyes brightened with lunacy.  
  
"But it is possible Kamus. Karen tried to stick her hand into him to fix up those wounds, but the moment her hand got within two inches of his skin, the nen around her automatically dissipated."  
  
"But…only the Emperor…" Kamus spluttered, unable to grasp those heretical words. Misha however, dared to speak.  
  
"Yes Kamus, your nephew is a natural nen user, through and through, probably even more powerful than the Emperor."  
  
Kamus looked to his sister, who's cold composure continued to shock him.  
  
"A natural nen user cannot be a good assassin, brother." She informed him without emotion. Kamus shook his head hard, his thoughts racing fast.  
  
"That can't be possible! His nen is too weak to be a natural nen user, otherwise I would have been able to spot one straight away. When I first saw him…his aura…was as weak as an ordinary man's aura! What have you done Kikyou?" he stared at the Zoldick family in disbelief. It was Silva who responded.  
  
"If you find out what is the fuel of the nen and find a way to block it, then you won't have a natural nen user."  
  
"What…was big bro's…" Killua's voice trailed off, but he feared the worst.  
  
"We suppressed his abilities with constant isolation, utter despair and loneliness, pain, a bit of torture and starvation and the cold has managed to keep Illumi in check for the past twenty years."  
  
Leorio did the calculations in his head. "Twenty years….but that would mean that you started to…"  
  
"Yes." Kikyou spoke up defiantly. "We have a room similar to The Cell back on Kukuru mountain. We threw Illumi in there when he was three years old, and he's been a quiet, good boy ever since."  
  
One tear slid down Kamus' cheek. He clasped a hand over his mouth to hold back the gagging and revulsion, but there was so much he didn't understand. "A natural nen user is the greatest treasure of all Kikyou." He rasped hoarsely. "You…why…?" he just shook his head and honestly felt sick and burdened.  
  
Killua thought back to the times at home. He had entered his brother's room once…and it was as cold as the kitchen freezers. There wasn't even a decent blanket in his brother's room and the four stone walls reminded him more of a cell than a bedroom. He then thought to the times their family had dinner together…  
  
"Grandpa…is that why big bro never has his meals with us? Because…" Killua swallowed shock. "because you had to *isolate* him?" Zeno didn't look too happy with being questioned, but he merely nodded.  
  
"And all those holidays and festive seasons…when I thought big bro was out working…"  
  
Silva nonchalantly shrugged. "Probably having his meal in his own room. Killu, is no big deal, really. If Illumi has never known anything in his life but loneliness, then how does he know that there is another side to the coin? How can he compare his loneliness and despair with another feeling when he has nothing to compare it to?"  
  
Another thing clicked in Kamus' mind. "Oh gods Kikyou…you must have starved him too…otherwise how do you explain his figure?" he buried his face in his hands and tried to steady his breathing. The main thrust of the shock came from the fact that Kikyou would personally destroy a part of Illumi's soul for the Zoldick family business…and didn't seem to understand anything wrong about it. Her head was held up high and unyielding, and she nodded once again. Kamus startled as the door was rudely thrown open. His heart broke when he saw that desolate and dead expression on his daughter's face.  
  
"My nen can't reach him." She informed them clinically and monotonously. "We've done all we could with other medicines and treatments, but his body seems to have resisted much of the drugs that we've administered. We've cleaned him up and done our best. If any of you have anything to say, do so within the hour."  
  
"Within the hour?" Kurapika echoed.  
  
Karen partly turned to leave, but her hardened and cold expressionless face was clear for all to see. "I will no longer shed tears for the dying." She said with the formality of something which she had repeated continuously, over and over and left the room. Leorio and Doctor Faust entered as she left.  
  
"Most fascination General. The wounds are fresh, inflicted about...say…one hour ago. If my hypothesis is correct, Illumi-san has activated the Void on for eight hours consistently. A might fine effort, but it's still on so we can't do anything else for him."  
  
"Can't you tell him to switch it off?" Wing suggested.  
  
Leorio solemnly shook his head. "He can't be reached. His eyes are blank (they always were), but he doesn't seem to be able to hear us. He's muttering something over and over again…but we can't make it out."  
  
"Hang on!" Kurapika exclaimed. "The room was empty! There was nothing in there except for Illumi. Who could have inflicted those wounds then?"  
  
Misha laughed out loud. "I think I can answer this question quite simply. In that room, the nen manifests into your most hideous, deepest, darkest, most painful nightmares. It materializes, takes shape and will tear you apart. We usually drag victims out once they promise to spill the beans. In Illumi-san's case however, he withstood his nightmares for around…seven hours, before his void started to weaken and he was actually hurt."  
  
"What is the Void?" Zuchi spoke up.  
  
"It's a legend, or so I thought it was." Wing spoke up. "It's where you create an area around you that snuffs out all nen that enters its perimeters." Zuchi imagined a figure inside a sphere, and any nen which happened to enter the sphere would simply disappear.  
  
"Apparently, if nen gets within two inches of Illumi-san is also dissipated. It must have had a larger radius eight hours ago."  
  
"If it has been suppressed for all these years, how is it suddenly unleashed?" Gon asked. No one could answer this question.  
  
Kamus stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "I've got to get back to work. It's your family, your son Kikyou, I concede that it's not my place to speak. If you require anything, just speak to Koran."  
  
"Thank you brother."  
  
"I'll get Chef to start breakfast immediately…if any of you are hungry."  
  
Killua certainly lost his appetite, even if it was Chef who was cooking. He looked at his impassive parents and wondered why on earth he was still alive after all that he had done.  
  
"Uncle, wait!" he blurted out to the retreating figure. "Can you take me to where big bro is?"  
  
Kamus sought for Kikyou's silent approval then consented.  
  
"I might as well tell your brother that the money is in his account." He looked surprised when Kikyou stood up too.  
  
"I'm coming too."  
  
===========  
  
The group followed General Kamus through the procession of doors and courtyards, too immersed in their own feelings to appreciate the glorious morning. They halted outside a simple brown wooden carved door and wondered who should go in first. Kamus slowly reached up and pushed the double doors open, and gasped at what he saw.  
  
Illumi lay just in front of them, about fifteen paces away, swathed in bandages. There was no equipment or medical machinery around him, because his body naturally rejected all foreign bodies. They gave him the simple garments men usually wear in the capital, and pulled soft covers over him. But what shocked Kamus most was the youth sitting cross-legged at Illumi's feet, a small serene smile on her face.  
  
She looked around fourteen, fifteen, lanky and skinny as all teenagers are wont to be and had finely cut hair that reached the base of her neck. It was thin and slightly dull, and the strands clung to the side of her face. She was dressed in dark blue with a vivid dragon sewn on the front of the robe. She was not shocked at their presence, but Kamus was left in a panicked flurry.  
  
General Kamus Kalinnan Kastro hurriedly got down onto his knees and quickly urged his surprised sister to do so.  
  
"Good morning Emperor. What brings you to my humble Court?" he intoned the small formalities. Everyone gaped. A fourteen year old girl was the Emperor of the Arcadian Empire? She was the one who led great armies into glorious victories during the ten year war? One look into her fathomless black eyes immediately told Silva not to underestimate the child. But he spotted loneliness and pain in those eyes, all too evident in the aura clinging to her. Kikyou reacted differently though.  
  
"Ni-chan! THIS person is the almighty Emperor? You have got to be kidding!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Be quiet Kikyou!" Kamus tried to hiss. He stood up at the Emperor's gesture.  
  
"Nice day isn't it?" She said in a slightly rasping alto voice. The serene and calm smile never faded from her face. "Ah yes…your question General. Someone created tidal waves so big last night that I thought the Forbidden Palace was going to crumble." She giggled a bit. "I didn't get any sleep last night because everything was just shaking so hard, so I just went on a tracking excursion to see who else apart from me can cause such a racket." She glanced down at the near lifeless form.  
  
"He's a natural nen user." She spoke quietly. "He's mastered it better than me too. Look, his Void is still up and running. I can only make mine last for five minutes."  
  
She looked at Kamus. "Who is he?"  
  
The General was quick to respond. "My sister's eldest son, my nephew, sire."  
  
Rodimostev did not bother to inquire about why the General suddenly had another sister. She was content with the answer and smiled again. "He's saying the most strangest things." She said about Illumi. Killua peered through and saw that his brother's lips were moving, ever so slightly. Behind him, he heard a loud racket.  
  
"Illu!" Hisoka cried out, pushing past everyone and burst into the room. Even he couldn't believe what he saw. "Did…did the rebels do this to him? Karen-chan didn't say much…" he glanced suspiciously at the aura around Illumi and tried to attach his pansy gum on him. When the nen disappeared, he took two steps back, a look of shock on his face. People milled their way into the small room, a cosy room with lots of sunshine and fresh air from the open windows.  
  
"Can you….get rid of the Void, sire? So that my daughter can save him?"  
  
Rodimostev had a habit of making pauses to cause people to become agitated and uncomfortable. She looked slightly confused and glanced back to Illumi, then back to the General. Then her frown deepened, and she sighed, indicating that she was not too happy.  
  
"I'd like to help General" she whined slightly "but he's saying that he wants to die. It would be nice to have someone like me around…even though I thought the Forbidden Palace was going to come crashing down last night, I was glad that I finally met someone who could reach out and touch the fabric of nen around us. Suddenly…" she sighed. "It just wasn't so lonely anymore."  
  
"You can still save him then?"  
  
The smile abruptly dropped and Rodimostev looked quiet serious, too serious for a girl of her age. But shortly, she managed another small smile, a pitiful smile, one that you give to the dying.  
  
"He's in the most wonderful place right now General." She muttered, reaching over to stroke a few strands of what remained of Illumi's precious hair. It had thinned considerably…like someone tore off handfuls of it, and viciously hacked that the rest. The sight pained Hisoka most.  
  
"The sky's clear and blue, open and boundless. He's sitting in a grass field on a warm summer's day, and butterflies dance around him and squirrel sits in his lap. The breeze carries with it the gentle fragrance of lavender, and a bit of pollen from the daffodils makes him sneeze. He looks around him, and everything seems to set his heart at ease. A woman appears, dressed like an Arcadian princess in a soft yellow gown with little flowers stitched on the hem and has flowing silken sleeves. She smiles gently at him and gently strokes his head and embraces him, telling him how much he is loved and how much she cares for him. They sit down and pour each other cups of tea, all the while listening to the melodious tune of a fine harp whose strings are plucked by the wind, drawing out wondrous harmony. And he thinks to himself: I'm finally free."  
  
Kamus could feel tears coarse down his cheeks as his Emperor described the scene.  
  
"That was Kim's favourite dress." He whispered.  
  
Rodimostev looked up, slightly detached and dispassionate. "Yes, a lady ghost did come to me. She said that the person I was looking for was here, in this room." She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly back to enjoy the bathe of sunlight and its warmth.  
  
"He's in Heaven, General, and I would be the one to kill him by brining him back to this mortal realm. Slowly, but surely, he's drowning in his own turmoil of emotions. And when he ceases to struggle, he will remain forever, on that peaceful grass plain. Yes…it would be cruel to bring him back…"  
  
But her look was torn and confused. "I don't get it, Kamus. If he wanted to die, surely he should have succumbed to the pain and killed himself a long time ago, and this Void wouldn't have protected from the demons of his soul if he had really given up on life."  
  
"The nen is protecting him, no, has protected him all these years?" Zeno suggested. The little girl could only agree.  
  
"Maybe I'll just have a chat with him. Perhaps I can persuade him to join us again."  
  
"You can't talk to him. He doesn't seem to know we're here…" Leorio cut in. But the Emperor's aura glowered electric blue, and it enveloped her hand. Slowly, she lowered her hand and pressed her palm firmly against where his heart should be.  
  
"Reveal your soul to me." She commanded, and Illumi complied. 


	15. Chapter 15

Hey everyone, sorry it's only one chapter this week…but there are exams coming up…so there might only be just one more chapter in the next fortnight. I'll try my best…  
  
And thank you to everyone who's reviewed my fic! More comments please!  
  
[This chapter has not been extensively proof read. Any questions and queries, please email me]  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Rodimostev's voice was hard and compelling, and her eyes glazed briefly before going dull. She was instantly transported into the darkest recesses of a human mind, a place she had been so many times before. But Kamus' nephew was unyielding, unwilling to let her into his secrets. In front of her was a solid dark grey steel wall and she was suspended in pitch darkness. Normally, she would already be in the world created by the person's mind – sometimes a fairyland faded and tormented by reality, now the only haven of comfort and peace for the unfortunate soul. Sometimes, it would be a blazing inferno filled with the ghastly shrieks of victims and a hideous laugh so frightening it sent chills down her spine. She despised those cold blooded murderers. But this, this was something completely new, and she did what came logically – break down the barrier and find the damn manifestation of the soul. But the steel was thick and would not budge. On closer inspection however, she saw the many scars, dents and even great rents along the side where the slings and arrows of life had tried to penetrate this barrier. She knew one thing – it was not invulnerable and could be broken down.  
  
Rodimostev searched quickly and favoured a particularly large and ugly dent. She could almost feel the drumming of whatever was happening on the other side of the barrier. Surrounding herself in her nen, it only took a single punch to form a gaping hole which consequently bought down the steel wall. Or rather, what was on the other side of the barrier came burst through in great angry roars, instantly washing away the crumbling ruins of the barricade.  
  
The Emperor levitated herself just in time to prevent herself from being washed away in the, now, boundless ocean of raging waves and violent whirlpools. It was not so safe levitating either for dark clouds gathered for miles on end, crackling and rumbling with dangerous electricity. She barely missed a fork of lightening as it struck the water, and the impact sent a massive splash to drench her silly. However, in the brief glare of light, she spotted a figure, helplessly tossed like a rag doll in the fierce ocean, one arm weakly reaching up for help. It didn't take a genius to figure out what to do here, and her nen glowing fiercer still, she pushed past the howling winds now shrieking like ghouls past her, grappled with the huge waves and cut a straight line through to clamp an iron grip on the cold and wet hand. With a huge heave and plenty of effort, she pulled Illumi out of the ocean.  
  
Illumi clung to her with weak and trembling arms, choking, gasping and gagging for breath. As he coughed up the salty sea water and wiped the stinging salt from his eyes, pushing back his wretchedly soaked hair, he looked about him in amazement.  
  
"The walls are down! I'm no longer trapped!" he laughed joyously, sting clinging onto the Emperor for dear life. It had been too long, just facing those steel walls, trapped in the cube and suspended in darkness. Too long had he cried and wept in loneliness and the deep pains of solitude. He shouted his voice hoarse for what seemed like a millennia, and all he ever got in return was the haunting echo of his own voice rebounding off the remorseless grey walls. And then not long ago, great torrents of water invaded his prison and he was helpless against the lashing waves and the shrieking winds. In horror and panic, he felt himself drowning, yet he struggled endlessly, never wanting to die. And after so long, he could finally behold the vast, endless space of his heart, his soul, his thoughts no longer confined and restricted.  
  
He gave the Emperor a good hard hug.  
  
Rodimostev smiled at him happily, also feeling his elevation. She gestured to the raging weather about them.  
  
"Perhaps you could calm this down first, and create a bit of dry land so we can sit down and talk." She suggested. Illumi however, became puzzled.  
  
"Do you think I'm a god or something? Stop this!?" he looked around him incredulously. "If I could stop it in the first place, I wouldn't be drowning now, would I?"  
  
But the Emperor took no offence and her smile never wavered. "But of course you can stop this. You ARE the god of this place, and you have to power to create whatever you desire in here. No one has taught you, that's all."  
  
Illumi blinked a few times, but shook his head vigorously in denial. There was also a trace of bitterness in his features. "If I were the god of this place," he began quietly, his tone betraying years of hurt and pain, "then I wouldn't have been trapped in such a desolate prison that I could not escape. No, I have no control in this place at all." He sounded so miserable that Rodimostev seriously thought that he might start crying, but her hand gripped his harder still.  
  
"The first thing is to believe that you have the power to control this place. This power comes in the confidence you have in your own abilities, and your own determination to take control of the life around you and create the things that you want to create or do the things you want to achieve. That is the foremost and most precious pre-requisite."  
  
Illumi sobbed quietly and wiped hard at his tears. He was doing it again. He had shouted for so long to be released, yelled his heart out to be free, but he had never the strength to do it because the walls of the prison were too strong, too thick, too high and unyielding. There will never be escape…that's what he had always thought.  
  
"No." Rodimostev said sternly. "Despair is only for the weak! You are no weakling. The freedom is yours to take, only that you must have the courage and determination to do so. Now shed aside the feelings of lost hope and despair for that is truly the killer of men. Hold your head up high, and repeat what I say: Storm begone!"  
  
Illumi certainly didn't like being scolded at. In fact, it only bought back more horrors and painful memories of his dad and the despising tone of his when he spoke to him, spitting each word out like sour grapes. All he could manage was a small sniff and a whimper. He felt himself ready to burst into fresh tears if anyone pushed him harder. He had enough…enough…why did he always struggle thus? If he succumbed to his fears and loneliness, all the pain these lonely years had bought, it would have ended much earlier, and there would be sweet release.  
  
"You will do as I say." Rodimostev tuned her voice to become perfectly low and intimidating, yet at the same time a voice that did not inspire fear. Rather, it was a tone of compelling, persuading, only that it carried the full weight of authority behind them. But Illumi would rather clench his eyes shut and cling on tightly all the whilst shrugging his head vigorously. He reminded her of a small boy who had never grown up, that somehow along the way, his development became suspended in time and whilst his body grew, the soul never developed because it was shut out from contact with reality. And it the finally dawned on the Emperor that the walls which Illumi's heart and soul had been trapped in were self made, a deliberate construct to shut his soul from the world and bury it deep within himself with the hope that he would one day forget that it was there, and that he was every capable of any feelings or emotions. Or perhaps the prison was a way of retaining whatever was left of his soul before his cruel parents stripped him of whatever emotions he had left, and he tucked it neatly into the darkest corner of himself, carefully preserving his own redemption until one day, he was safe enough to reveal his emotions again, only that along the many years, he had forgotten that there was just a box there, lying in the dark. Her voice suddenly caught in her throat, making it difficult to speak.  
  
"You are so close to freedom, Illumi. You just have to wish away this storm and you'll see light again. I promise."  
  
Illumi felt himself safe in that solemn voice, the sound of someone trustworthy and could be entrusted with his confidence.  
  
"Just like that? I just wish it to go away, and it will go away?"  
  
"Yes." She nodded slowly. Illumi gave a big smile, unhindered by his old memories, full of the exuberance of youth. It was an innocent smile.  
  
"Then I wish this storm to go away."  
  
The grey storm clouds around them quieted down, rapidly parting to reveal a boundless blue sky above. The winds subsided, leaving only the gentle breeze caressing their cheeks, and the raging ocean beneath them suddenly stilled and the gentle rocking waves shimmered in the bright sun like many crystals sewn onto an immaculate sheet of satin.  
  
Illumi's eyes widened incredulously but he was too overwhelmed with laughter to be afraid anymore. His unfettered laughter rang clearly around them and gradually, the Emperor descended onto solid ground, on a hill of wild grass overlooking the calm sea. Illumi threw himself onto the ground and stretched, fully basking in the glow of the warm summer sun, happily babbling to himself.  
  
Rodimostev gazed at the butterflies dancing around them and sighed. All it took to break the storm was simple compassion, and a voice carefully tuned to inspire trust and security. That was all it took to rub away this man's many years of misery, and to turn the once dark, desolate and oppressive prison into a heavenly paradise of peace and beauty. She continued to take in her surroundings and with slightly teary eyes discovered a wonder and gentle soul. One could almost imagine the ringing laughter of many children at play around them, the echo of a seagull's purr, and the hypnotic splashing of the waves beneath against the cliff.  
  
They remained silent for a long time, but Illumi finally asked for her name. She turned to him and looked into his large eyes, shimmering with life and freedom. Her lips pulled into a small smile.  
  
"Call me Rudy."  
  
Illumi muttered the name a few times to get used to it and finally presented her a batch of daisies that he had plucked from a nearby bush.  
  
"I won't be staying for long Illumi."  
  
His face quickly dipped with disappointment and immediately began to protest.  
  
"I need to teach you a few things before I leave so that you can remain here forever. This place must never yield to another storm or prison again, do I make myself clear?" At that moment, she sounded old and tired beyond her frail years. She accepted the batch of daisies and gestured for him to sit beside her.  
  
She then proceeded to recount to him all the knowledge of a lifetime, experiences that he had missed out and propounded her theories of life. She spoke to him of anger, hate, compassion, forgiveness. She talked about desire and temptation, repulsion and rejection and filled in the gaps of twenty years of development in his life. And he gave small nods now and then, asked little questions and absorbed every single word like a dry sponge. When she had finally finished, he had a small frown on his face.  
  
"I'd swear that you are half my age. How is that you know so much?"  
  
Rudy hesitated but steadied her voice when she responded. "I've seen a lot." She began, then wondered how to explain to him what war generally does to someone. "And I've done a lot. I've…. killed a lot of people already…killed a lot of people. I ordered the complete extermination of an entire nation for waging war against my country. First were the old and frail, the crippled and the disabled. I said that our economy couldn't sustain these people and that there would be no welfare for them. They were the first to be shot. Next came the women. Anyone that was capable of work were sent to labour camps to rebuild all that their husbands and sons destroyed." Her cold, cold eyes stared into his fearful ones. "Of course, I ordered them to be treated like dogs, because that's all they deserved. Half of them died from starvation, some from exhaustion, others from malnutrition and other diseases. And those who did survive? I signed their death warrants too."  
  
She took a deep quivering breath and felt the distant drumming of thunder, reflecting Illumi's unease. But she looked defiantly into his eyes.  
  
"And the children were sent to clear the minefields that their fathers and brothers laid down. I ordered that they be lined up across the field with a gun barrel pressed against their necks and told them to march. Hundreds and thousands of acres of minefields were thus cleared…by the children of my enemy." She glared at Illumi's horrified look. "The blood of my people soaked the earth to reclaim their country. It should only be right that the blood of their families be used to rebuild what they destroyed! I have seen too many good men fall down around me…my…my heart stabbed so many times with each death…they *all* deserved to die. I cannot risk any survivors with long memories. I am an Emperor, and the safety of my kingdom is my responsibility…even if I must bear this burden alone."  
  
"You're just like me." Illumi commented softly. "alone."  
  
"But," her voice hardened "I was taught never to despair. The war taught me that no matter how many people fell around me, I must remain standing and strive forward because there is no turning back…ever. We only live for tomorrow, and never the past. You must remember this Illumi."  
  
He nodded thoughtfully.  
  
"Despair will be the death of you. If ever on your path you should stumble across an obstacle, you must not shy away from it and have the courage to leap over and continue."  
  
Cold hands clamped around the sides of his face and he fought back the urge to shrink back.  
  
"Never look back. Understand?"  
  
And he saw her eyes stinging with tears set on a grimly determined face, a look way beyond her years.  
  
  
  
=========  
  
Rudy withdrew her hand from Illumi's now steadily rising chest. His nen glowed strongly – reinforcement, to heal his wounds, then died again. But that sign was reassuring. She spoke to no one in particular.  
  
"How many days have passed?" for it did seem like an eternity in there, just there talking to the boy.  
  
General Kamus looked a bit astonished and cleared his throat before he could trust himself to speak. "Um…Sire…I guess around two seconds?"  
  
To the people who had still gathered in the small room, they saw the Emperor's eyes go dull, but then the life returned and she had spoken. But there was now a great weariness about her.  
  
"Really." She said distantly, not really caring at all. The Emperor took notice of no one and slowly left the room, presumably on her way back to the Forbidden Palace. Kamus shook off his shock and ordered that someone escort the Emperor back safely.  
  
Illumi gave a slight groan, coughed up some blood and blinked frantically to see if he still had his vision. He felt a hand gently caressing his head.  
  
"Illu?" Hisoka peered into those large feline eyes, and was surprised to find his own reflection. Illumi tried to smile back, but it hurt his face muscles too much. Still, he produced a small grin enough to frighten the world.  
  
"I feel like someone whacked me around with a bag of bricks. I look terrible don't I?"  
  
Hisoka smiled back and shook his head.  
  
"I think a few of my teeth are loose too." Illumi giggled, but found that the effort to laugh hurt more than trying to smile so he quieted down again. Hisoka pulled the light covers up to his chin.  
  
"Get some sleep ok? I'll wake you up for lunch."  
  
Illumi sighed with relief and closed his eyes, asleep within no time. Which was good, because then he wouldn't have to see Hisoka being dragged away by Imperial Guards led by General Misha and Master Echlan.  
  
Kamus walked fast to keep up with the Mad General. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed, glancing back at the struggling Hisoka who was being manhandled by the old eunuch. Fortunately, Kurapika and Leorio restrained the two children from coming and seeing anything nasty.  
  
"Koran had no idea about what it was that he gave you after last night's little escapade with the rebels, so I finally managed to pry it out of him and found out that it was Hisoka who saw any significance in that little emblem, isn't that right Koran?" Misha grated harshly. The younger eunuch glumly nodded, quickly looking away from Hisoka's accusatory glare. "And then I asked myself, HOW would anyone apart from us Generals know of the significance of a symbol consisting of a few calligraphy brushstrokes? Unless of course" he continued dramatically, obviously in a bad mood "unless he's obviously met these people before and dealt with them. Anyone who's dealt with such people can quite readily be treated as suspicious. We're throwing him into the Cell and going to interrogate him, if you please General Kamus."  
  
"After what happened to my nephew, I really don't want to see that room used ever again."  
  
"It won't take long Kastro, only twenty minutes." Misha assured. "and it is convenient that Lady Kikyou has decided to come along as well. We've also invited your husband ma'am, because guess what Dr. Faust and Karen found last night when they were operating on Alluka?"  
  
"I'm curious." Kamus curtly responded, clearly disliking the way Misha was handling the situation. After all, this WAS Kastro Court.  
  
"Only a small tattoo on the child's arm, exactly the same as the symbol that Hisoka bought back last night. I have suspicions that these Nihilists were behind that child's crippling."  
  
"Nihilists? What's this? Are these the people who hurt my son?" Kikyou demanded, eyes already blazing with holy anger. She saw Silva and Zeno standing calmly outside the entrance to The Cell.  
  
Misha stopped, and the Master Eunuch likewise stopped with him when the pressure of the nen was already overwhelming. Beads of cold sweat drenched Hisoka's brow.  
  
"Ok Hisoka, it's your call. You can either answer us here, in one of the adjoining rooms, or we can take you to The Cell. It all depends on your trustworthiness."  
  
Hisoka closed his eyes, but he didn't need to think. There was a ghostly hand threatening to strangle the very breath out of him.  
  
"I'll talk. Anything you ask." He said thickly.  
  
They took Hisoka to a dimly lit room with no windows, only a rotting wooden table with unsightly dents and unusual patches of colour and two splintered wooden chairs. Echlan stuffed Hisoka on the one side and seated on the other under the approving nod of Misha. The elders of the Zoldick family remained in the shadows to listen, but even in this room, at least a hundred yards from The Cell, the mad pressure was gnawing at the edges of their consciousness. Echlan set the recording machine running, the whirring noise eeringly hypnotic.  
  
"Let's get to the bottom of this straight away. Where did you ever see this sign?" Master Echlan held up the bloodstained cloth with the Nihilists' emblem stitched on.  
  
"You've got it upside down." Hisoka swallowed the lump in his throat whilst Echlan rearranged the piece of cloth. The sound of his own voice was distant and he felt his vision gradually begin to blur due to the maddening nen. "I saw that four years ago. Illu came to me and said that some people had taken his kid brother and that he needed help to rescue him."  
  
Sweat trickled down the side of his face, and some stung his eyes. "I said sure. So we went to some laboratory hidden in the mountains. Almost got killed just trying to breach the outer fence. Of course, that's where I saw that symbol. It was all over the place…the people were like…fanatics. I wanted to run away, but Illu was insistent…and I could never deny him anything when he gets all angry and frowns and pouts like that."  
  
Kikyou's face darkened at Hisoka's amused smile. "So I limped along behind him. And we eventually found Alluka on the operation table, screaming endlessly in pain."  
  
Hisoka seemed unwillingly to continue, but one menacing glare from Echlan prompted him. "Illu… Illu got very angry….very angry. Suddenly, there was eight of him, slaughtering everything that moved until the walls were dripping with blood and guts. Nothing could touch him…it was like there was some impenetrable forcefield around him, and he kept on lashing out even when the people were all dead. I grabbed onto Alluka before the whole place came crashing down and thought that I was seriously going to die. But I emerged from the rubble alive…dug Illu out and took them all to the nearest hotel. He…couldn't remember anything and thought that I had saved them…what a joke. Even now I still don't have a hope of messing with those people."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
"Yes sir, I haven't had any dealings with these people in my life, ever."  
  
"Wait," Kikyou stepped forth. "You said Illumi asked you for help four years ago?"  
  
"That's correct." Hisoka couldn't bear Misha and Echlan's combined pressure for much longer. He could feel his consciousness gradually slipping.  
  
Kikyou frowned deeply. "How long have you known my son."  
  
"I met Illu when he was 16 – that's about eight years ago." Hisoka gave a trembling sigh and his mind darkened. Before he blacked out, he saw himself eight years ago, at the 199th floor of the Celestial tower where he saw Illumi, dressed in pink with ribbons in his hair, trying to pass himself off as a girl in a place where impressions and appearance was how your opponent judged you. Their first conversation bought a smile to his lips when Illumi glared at him and told him to move out of his way. It was then he knew that he *had* to have him. 


	16. Chapter 155

Chapter 15.5  
  
Sorry folks, but I was quite dissatisfied with the last chapter. I would have liked Rudy and Illumi's encounter to have lasted much longer – at least described it in more detail anyway…I think I missed some important bits. Oh well, I'll add that in later, but I've got to finish this interrogation…Hisoka passing out like that was more of a cop-out. So here we go, and extended Chapter 15. Hope you guys enjoy!  
  
Misha looked unhappily at Hisoka's limp form, sprawled out on his rickety chair and let loose a murderous growl.  
  
"Didn't last long, did he." Echlan commented drying, daintily stopping the recording machine.  
  
"I want to see what happened four years ago. And I'm also very interested in seeing what powers your nephew has, Kastro." Misha took one determined step forwards, and no one in their right minds gave serious thought to challenging what he was about to do.  
  
"I would support your decision General," Echlan delicately pointed out. "You see, Hisoka-chan is obviously a manipulative type, and we all know what that means."  
  
"Yes, deceit and cunning flow within the very marrow of his bones. This should be interesting then. I'm sure his memories can't lie."  
  
"What are you planning to do?" Kikyou demanded, just as desperate to uncover the final mystery to Alluka's downfall and Illumi's anger.  
  
General Misha was mad, that was well known. He was young possibly around twenty five, and was tall, lean and gaunt. The hollowness of his cheeks only highlighted how empty and soulless those ebony eyes of his were, and you couldn't but help shiver at the ghastly undertones of insane violence in his voice. He constantly wore a black choker around his slim neck which suspended a purple five stared pendant. When he undertook administrative work, which was rare indeed, he shed his armor, and wore a black fitted trench coat bursting an array of colours on the left lapel, proudly showing off all the medals of honour he received during the war. General Kamus found him to be a man desperately in need of some goal in life after the war ended for war was all the madman lived for. And with peace, he seemed vague and restless, pouncing on any chance to reassert his wartime authority.  
  
But what was the man like before the war? Before he introduced himself to the Emperor and pledged his life and service to the Kingdom? Only few people know, and the ones who do felt only a great pity and sorrow for the things that war did to people.  
  
The nen around Misha flickered undecidedly, unsure of whether to die or to live. One bony finger pressed against the center of Hisoka's forehead and Misha slowly began to draw out Hisoka's lifetime worth of memories and visualized them like holographic projections for all the people in the small, cramped room to see.  
  
The peered closer to the blur of shapes and colours which gradually sharpened into moving images, as clear as yesterday.  
  
============  
  
"May I sit here?" Hisoka plonked down his plate of food in the semi-crowded café. It wasn't noon yet and there were still plenty of spaces to go around, only that he wanted to get to know this person in particular. A very pretty person indeed with her hair plaited prettily, entwined with silver and pink ribbons. She dressed in designer clothing and wore a pleasant and enchanting perfume. Without responding, she picked up her belongings and began to move to another seat before Hisoka blocked her way.  
  
"Get out of my way." She said quietly and firmly, fine delicate eyebrows frowning prettily.  
  
"We are both going to sit down, have lunch together and get to know each other." Hisoka replied, equally firmly and gestured back to her seat.  
  
"No thank you."  
  
"Ah," he responded with a flourish. "I don't think I gave you a choice on that one. Sit."  
  
Illumi took no heed of Hisoka's threat or warning and forcibly shoved past him. When Hisoka laid a hand on him to pull him back, Illumi released a scream perfectly tuned to one of a damsel in distress. It bought at least twenty pair of eyes on them, and one man stood to confront Hisoka.  
  
"Are you all right Miss?" he asked with the chivalry of a knight.  
  
Illumi sniffed piteously, constantly backing away from Hisoka. "He…he…indecently assaulted me." The whimpers would have wrung anyone's heart and stolen their sympathy.  
  
The man, another powerful nen user at the Celestial Fighting Tower, lowered a dark gaze at Hisoka and took one menacing step forward at the teenager. Hisoka looked incredulously at the fleeing figure with mixed emotions of longing and anger. He tried to splutter his response, but back then, there were many people who could wipe the floor with the Magician's face. Hisoka gulped at the looming figure before him, and the images faded away.  
  
======  
  
Misha grunted. "Oops, went back too far. Let me get this right."  
  
More images surfaced again.  
  
=====  
  
"That looks very expensive Illu. Are you sure you can afford the whole set?" Hisoka studied the three articles of jewelry – a pair of earrings, a bangle and a necklace all generously studded with yellow diamonds, one of the rarest gems on earth. Illu gave a small pout beside him and held up the necklace, admiring the fire of the stones.  
  
"I could give kaa-san one piece a year I suppose." He began slowly, thumbing all the precious stones, his hesitancy betraying his desire.  
  
"I seriously don't understand why you bother Illu. Doesn't your family treat you like crap?"  
  
"It's kaa-san's birthday next week. She has been quite upset lately over Killu's rebelliousness. Perhaps this will cheer her up at least."  
  
Hisoka sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Hisoka, did you get that book as I asked?"  
  
"Yes, the one that your grandpa wants."  
  
"I should probably give that to him for Christmas then. How much do I owe you for your services?"  
  
"Hmm…I'll have to think about that." Hisoka let his eyes wander freely up and down Illumi's body. The assassin stamped his foot hard, all the whilst with a blushing face. Hisoka laughed and held him close. "Just the usual will do, Illu." He whispered hungrily. The scene faded again.  
  
=======  
  
"Ok, maybe too far. Why can't I ever get this right?"  
  
======  
  
Illumi was snuggled close to Hisoka under warm bed covers. He was breathing lightly in a light sleep.  
  
Hisoka nudged him. "Illu."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Why do you work so hard? Look how tired you are."  
  
"…money." Illumi grumbled and made to turn away, but Hisoka held him back.  
  
"Your family is stinking rich Illu, and you must be a billionaire by now. What are you going to do with it all?"  
  
Illumi wearily opened his eyes and looked at Hisoka who was lying on his side, looking back intently at him. "I'm going to leave home one day." He laid his head on the pillow and continued to gaze at the clown.  
  
"Oh? Really? And what will you do afterwards?"  
  
The tired and overworked assassin shrugged. "Haven't given it much thought."  
  
"Why don't you follow me then?" Hisoka proposed.  
  
The scene faded.  
  
=======  
  
"Ok, I think we're almost there."  
  
=======  
  
"Hisoka…"  
  
"What's the matter Illu?"  
  
"I…need your help."  
  
"You actually sound serious. Is something terribly wrong?" Hisoka looked at the assassin beside him with his full attention.  
  
"Someone's kidnapped Allu. I…need help rescuing him."  
  
"Do you know where they took him?"  
  
Illumi nodded with big pleading eyes that Hisoka just couldn't refuse. "Lets go Illu."  
  
* * *  
  
Hisoka whistled softly at the massive looming walls hidden in the middle of a canyon of mountains, wondering what on earth this wall was erected. Illumi certainly looked pensive, giving it much thought on how to breach the damn thing so they could get in. Strange inscriptions were marked on the wall, over and over…It looked more like the symbol of an organization perhaps.  
  
"I think they've charged these walls up with electricity. Here, I'll act as a fuse to short circuit the system to temporarily detract the electricity and you jump over. I'll follow."  
  
Hisoka looked at the impassive walls and repressed a shiver. "Are you sure Illu? I think there are a few million volts just by the feel of it. The static has already caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand."  
  
"Of course I can handle it. I've had training. Now, lets go."  
  
Illumi placed both palms on the deathly cold surface and was immediately attacked by crackling energy. Hisoka clenched his eyes and lopped over the wall receiving minor shocks on the way. Illumi quickly followed. His hair looked slightly burnt out.  
  
"You'll get split ends." Hisoka pouted, reaching out to touch the assassin, but Illumi was already moving on.  
  
They entered a dark, long corridor with the constant feel of unease and oppression. Their steps did not echo in the darkness, and was unnaturally absorbed instead so that they became dull thuds. Hisoka worriedly looked about him.  
  
"I really don't like the feel of this Illu? What is this place? I can barely breathe."  
  
"Aren't you always happy to find challenges Hisoka? I think there will be plenty of them here."  
  
"No Illu, this place is downright eerie. It's no longer about the challenge…it's like…"  
  
Shrill screaming pierced through their minds and Illumi's face instantly flickered anger.  
  
"That's Allu! They must be torturing him…" he grated to the surprise of Hisoka.  
  
"I've suddenly got this desperate urge to run away Illu. What IS this place?" the magician jogged to keep up with the assassin, and when they reached the end of the corridor and burst open the doors, they were greeted to a room swarming with people dressed as surgeons attending to mind boggling equipment. At the center of the room was a young boy with delicate white hair, twisting and writhing in pain as hideous instruments suspended him from the floor. Hisoka still didn't understand what happened in there, but he felt the most powerful urge to retch. To his further horror, the assassin beside him let loose a frightening scream of rage and hatred, and Hisoka witnessed a most terrifying miracle.  
  
Suddenly, Illumi divided himself into eight, each as angry as its original. They moved at the speed of lightening, racing through the people torturing his brother, killing them mercilessly as he approached, tearing human beings apart with his bare hands. From every direction, Hisoka heard screams and orders being shouted, limbs tossed carelessly into the air and the dreadful stench of blood filled the air. His steps became heavy, like huge balls of iron had been shackled to his ankles, yet he willed himself forward to pluck the raving boy from his torture. His five senses began to dim when someone stepped into the room from the other side of where they had entered, eyes blazing with anger at the intruders creating the chaos.  
  
The real Illumi roared with feral rage and charged straight at him. The man let loose a flurry of arrows created by nen at the charging assassin, and Hisoka desperately wanted to pull him away. But the arrows vanished when they got within two meters of Illumi, and try as he might, the man could not harm him. So he drew his sword and lashed out, only to hear the resounding clash of the metal against Illumi's forearm. He slashed again and again, but each time, the weapon merely rebounded off the assassin's body and he gazed in horrified fascination at the monster before him.  
  
"Who are you?" he croaked, unable to tear his eyes from the hollow, empty gaze.  
  
"I want you to die." Illumi said through clenched teeth, and the man obeyed, immediately falling onto his sword.  
  
The other seven Illumi's however, continued to destroy the surroundings, ripping out lengths of cable, smashing monitors, heaving chairs and splintering them on other machinery. A small explosion on the far side of the room set off a chain reaction of other explosions, each successively larger than the previous. Hisoka ripped the cords attached to Alluka and ran to Illumi, the ground now slippery from all the blood that flowed from the decapitated bodies.  
  
"Illu, we've got to get out of here – " but the roof groaned in agony, then it came crashing down on the hapless magician.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hisoka?" Illumi woke up from his bed to find Hisoka frantically placing his clothes into his travel bag.  
  
"Gods Illumi, never drag me to another place like that again." He muttered, carefully folding a light blue shirt, one of the assassin's favourites.  
  
"Alluka! Did you get him out! Gosh – " Illumi rubbed the side of his temples feeling a wave of dizziness hit him. "I….don't remember a thing!"  
  
"You don't?" the magician spun around incredulously.  
  
"No, I just remember the dark corridor and Allu screaming…." He looked sheepishly at Hisoka. "Thanks for getting me out of the fix."  
  
Hisoka slowly approached him and steadied himself. "You have absolutely no idea of what you did?"  
  
"Did I do anything? It's really a blank." Illumi said resignedly, and unconsciously leaned towards Hisoka. Hisoka's hand immediately went to run his fingers through the fine black silken mass.  
  
"Lets not worry about that for now. I think your brother is seriously injured, so I've arranged a private flight for you back home. Come on, it leaves in one hour."  
  
The scene faded.  
  
=========  
  
Misha was wide eyed. "Did you see that Kamus? What fabulous carnage that was!"  
  
Echlan was critical however. "Is it just me? Or does Illumi seem to have perfectly mastered his natural nen abilities? He seems to be able to utilize everything at its maximum potential and is able to control more than one ability at a time. See how he had reinforcement on when he deflected the blows, as the same time the Void was active, as well as the perfect duplicates of himself."  
  
"That would require materialization and control…and each doppelganger seemed to have a mind of its own too…" Koran commented with awe in his alto voice.  
  
Kamus finally realized that his own hand had been trembling slightly. "I had thought that I would never witness such things in my life…I don't know whether to say that it was magnificent or horrific. Even the Emperor cannot do what Illumi did just then." He turned to Echlan. "You think…"  
  
"That he might be able to wield the Sacred Powers? After what I just saw, I would say 'yes'. But it seems that his natural nen abilities have been suppressed to the extent that he is not capable of calling up on them. That was probably a rare instance where he was so consumed by anger that everything broke free."  
  
"But what interests me the most," said Misha, "was the way he told the man to kill himself, and he did." He turned to the Zoldick family members. "That was what frightened you wasn't it? The Voice is the first ability to develop. When our Emperor speaks, everyone listens and everyone does as she says. You were frightened one day when Illumi commanded you and you couldn't help yourself but to comply."  
  
"It wasn't his voice." Zeno sighed. "It was his eyes. You just had to look at them, and you were immediately under his control. He was barely three years old when we finally figured out why Illumi always seem to have his own way."  
  
"What happened Kikyou? Surely you wouldn't have reacted so…harshly…if you found out that Illumi could control people. Did he do something?" Kamus probed.  
  
Kikyou cried out at last in bitterness and quickly wiped away her tears. "Yes! He threatened our safety for that very matter. We couldn't teach him because he always had his own way – he knew it, and he was manipulating us from the word go. He followed his heart, he followed his emotions and did what he liked to do, and none of us could argue with him because we'd all end up agreeing – just because he wants it to be that way. Then one day, Silva got angry with him because he was feeding pigeons breadcrumbs on the roof instead of practicing his assassin techniques. So Silva killed all the pigeons that he was feeding and told him to go to his room. And you know what Illumi said? He told Silva to "Go to Hell" and before you knew it, Silva was trying to stop his own hand from pulling his heart out. We had no choice ni-chan. He couldn't be taught or controlled." And she clung to her husband, crying in anguish. No mother would want to torment her own child, but there simply was no other way.  
  
"So you see, Kamus, we had to deprive Illumi of any emotion that he had. We didn't even want to know the consequences of his anger if he finally discovered his potentials. He threatened his family." Zeno ended solemnly.  
  
"He would have been the perfect heir, wielding those sorts of powers, but as you see, it was all for nothing if he didn't feel like killing. We take jobs and do it, and we don't put our feelings into it and say whether we would like to do this or not, or whether we enjoy killing or not. I don't think the nature of his powers was ever suited to our family business, so I did what I had to do." Silva explained, glaring at anyone who dared to disagree.  
  
"Returning back to the main point – the Nihilists seemed to scare the living daylights out of Hisoka. It would be heart warming if someone of Illumi's caliber could help us against the Nihilists and rebels in the imminent attack…but I guess we just have to make do." Misha shrugged.  
  
"They are more dangerous than I remember them to be. Did you see those experiments they were trying to conduct on Alluka? Surely that young lad must have some hidden abilities as well, hence he became their target." Echlan surmised.  
  
"I'll lend you a hand with the upcoming battle." Silva spoke out. "They hurt my son and nearly deprived him on his career. I will see them hurt for this."  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement, but Kamus wondered if the world was actually better off with one less deadly assassin. 


	17. Chapter 16

Heya! The next fortnight and a half will be dominated by study and exams...I hope I can still manage to pop out a chapter. Thanks to all the people who have reviewed and commented on the story - many thanks and appreciations - and I'll be working on it again with my full attention once I get the time. In the meanwhile, enjoy this short interlude :)  
  
Chapter 16  
  
Karen sighed and sat in the small infirmary room with Illumi's younger brother and his friends, slightly bored but not complaining. Rather, she was taken to the fact that the older assassin was exuding a powerful reinforcement aura and was readily healing himself. Many of the bruises on his face had already faded away, and she swore that it wasn't her imagination when his black mane became thicker by the minute.  
  
"Cousin Illu doesn't seem to be the reinforcement type." Karen muttered, leaning on the side of his bed. Killua raised his head.  
  
"He's not. I think he was more of a materialization type."  
  
Karen was confused, but she was too tired to show it. "So how?"  
  
Wing, who was sitting outside the room facing the courtyard on the shallow stone steps replied. "We found out that Illumi-san is a natural nen user. So it is only reasonable that he can access all types of nen."  
  
The doctor waved her delicate hand dismissively. She was too tired and had seen too much to be surprised by anything anymore these days.  
  
"By the way, where did Hisoka-chan go?" she glanced around suspiciously, also noting that Koran was missing too.  
  
"Oh," Leorio stretched. "He was dragged off by Master Echlan and General Misha for interrogation. Your father and aunty went with him of course."  
  
"Why do I bother?" Karen humphed and slumped down, her back leaning on the foot of Illumi's bed. She was tired and couldn't be bothered coping with the rapidly evolving events. In fact, it was quite relaxing just basking in the sun's warmth. Everyone suddenly grimaced however, when their stomachs flipped over and turned dreadfully cold.  
  
"The Emperor must be upset again." Gon gulped trying to steady his hackles. He saw Leorio's sensei approaching them rapidly, his white lab coat billowing dramatically in the wind.  
  
"Karen-chan, come on. We need to go to the Forbidden Palace."  
  
"Is there some order?" the young girl stood up slowly, exaggerating her weariness.  
  
"Well, yes and no." Faust responded curtly. "The Eunuchs are trying to persuade the Emperor to eat. She hasn't had any food for four days in a row already. Whenever she is not signing papers of formulating new policies, she spends her time in the temple and refuses food. She even threw an ornamental vase at Master Echlan the other day. Apparently, the Palace Guardian thinks that she may be on the verge of collapse, so we are backup."  
  
"Why is she refusing to eat?" Leorio wondered.  
  
"It's "the Emperor" to you, boy." Faust grated harshly at Leorio's lapse of formalities and insolence. "The Emperor has never been happy since the war ended, and she was even worse during the war, except she couldn't afford to let it show. Poor thing, fighting bloody battles at such a young age and to witness so much death and destruction."  
  
"Yes," Karen slowly agreed. "Rescuing survivors out of concentration camps and salvaging any villages and towns after months of bombardment are not your happiest childhood memories."  
  
"And neither is ordering children to clear minefields under gunpoint so noble either." Kurapika muttered angrily. A vein in Faust snapped, and so did his tolerance. He swung vicious murdering eyes onto the young blonde and dared him to repeat it. Kurapika coolly returned the look, not fazed a bit.  
  
"It's fact, and it's backed up by video evidence. Actually, it's been broadcasted in just about every country that has heard about your war. And frankly, I find your Emperor to be a filthy murderer."  
  
"Such blasphemous insolence…" Faust grated, his anger so overwhelming that Leorio mentally shrank back. But he held his ground, and did not enter the argument, decidedly choosing not to take sides. Kurapika continued with his barrage, despite the doctor's fuming rage.  
  
"She signed the death warrants of over fifty families that have royal blood and personally attended the execution of the last family at around the same time this year. Oh, that's right, I forget. If she didn't kill them off, she couldn't be Emperor…right…it's just dirty politics from the word go."  
  
It was Karen who slapped Kurapika, and she didn't flinch when the Kurata's eyes glowered red.  
  
"You foreigners know nothing about what happened to us during the miserable decade. And then you waltz into our country and start *judging* us just because you've seen some biased documentary and read a few journal articles. What would you know about life and death? You haven't *seen* torture and suffering."  
  
"I think the bare facts tell the truth, without the need to interpret them according to the circumstances. If you order the termination of an entire nation and race, I should think that you won't be able to sleep at night." He shot back.  
  
Karen gave off a sickly red coloured nen, and her eyes had become blank and trance like, perhaps it was just brimming with a professional cold bloodedness for killing. Her fingers itched, and she knew that somewhere deep inside her, the sleeping monster was stirring, sensing a new need to kill and took delight in the pain and bloodshed. But such words could not go unpunished, even if you had ignorance as an excuse.  
  
Zuchi on the other hand, had noticed that Killua's big brother was quietly awake, his large eyes observing the situation at hand. He blinked once, twice, and then slowly sat up.  
  
"Get some rest boy, or you'll be…" Faust was surprised by Illumi's face, free of any blemish or bruising, and noticed that the terribly torn lip was now whole again with no trace of scarring. Even his hair was now rich and thick, lustrous and shiny, cascading down to his slim waist again. A formidable calm was plastered on his expressionless face, and Karen turned around, detecting a new sense of strength within him. They all stared deeply into those eyes, which were no longer dull and were able to reflect the world around them.  
  
He spoke with a quiet voice, not fussed or hurried. "Please calm down and stop fighting."  
  
Karen found herself instantly complying. The murdering urges in her subsided, and the monster closed its eyes and gave a long trembling sigh, returning back down to its abyss, hopefully to be never awakened again. Kurapika felt a wave of peace wash over him, and his boiling blood cooled down. Faust likewise found himself no longer agitated, and he liked the feeling.  
  
"Can someone get me some clothes that are presentable? I would like to meet Rudy in person."  
  
"Rudy?" Leorio echoed. It was then that he recalled back to his study with the Royal Doctors inside the Forbidden Palace that the Palace Guardian had addressed the Emperor with such a name. But how did Illumi know about it if he had never actually seen her?  
  
Faust grimaced. "I don't know if that fits with protocol, but I'll take you there anyway."  
  
============  
  
Rudy glared at the impassive stone statute, its massive back pined against the wall, its hollow eyes staring down the tunnel of eternity. The features on the face had worn slightly due to time, but the grim expression had not softened over the ages.  
  
"You are supposed to provide me comfort god damnit! I'm not feeling any better." She growled, tempted to throw the plate of offerings onto the statue's face. Nen gathered in the lap of the giant statue and the image of a monk materialized. Like the statue, he sat, cross legged, in the middle of meditation.  
  
"What ails you, young Emperor?" his empty voice resounded off the walls in room dimly lit by hanging candles. Rudy's glare did not waver.  
  
"Everything. Every bloody thing. I haven't slept in four days and I'm tired to the bone. I can't stand this pain anymore." She was angry, but weariness was so heavy on her eyelids that her usual snap came out as a strained and tired voice of a broken soul.  
  
The monk sighed, a spine chilling whisper. Five hundred years ago, he was the most revered and enlightened monk in Arcadia, and he served as a spiritual guide to the Emperor and made a good man out of him. Five hundred years later, his loyalty remained, and even today, he continues to provide guidance and assistance to the troubled teenager.  
  
"You should sit and meditate like I do, and find some peace within you."  
  
"I've done that! It's not working." She growled, then her thin frame shook from the effort of being angry.  
  
"Because you don't want it to work." He pointed out. "You must free yourself of the past, and the past will free you." He made that sound like it was the most obvious and logical thing in the whole world.  
  
"Oh for god sakes! Enough with that mystical paradoxical metaphysical crap! I've heard enough, enough!" With red rimmed eyes, she pointed at him and her voice gathered about her with command and authority. "You tell me to forget the past? That is almost ridiculous. I will *always* have to remember the people who died for this country. I must remember and honour them for their death will have been in vain. It is my *duty* to remember! Do you understand? If I don't remember the destruction and devastation, I'll become just like Rodimostev II and all the corrupt line of Emperors before them."  
  
"Perhaps you should start by occupying your mind. Then one day, these memories won't be so vivid anymore." The monk responded quietly. He wanted to flinch from the unwavering glare and knew that he had said something wrong.  
  
"Occupy my mind?! I'm signing papers constantly, debating with local councilors, conducting negotiations for trade and business. The only time I'm not occupied is when I sleep - and that's only two bloody hours!! And even then I still can't sleep! You are supposed to be able to help me!" And all her troubles and frustrations broke through and again, she cried, alone in the semi darkness on the cold temple floors. When steps became audible, she completely lost it.  
  
"If I so much as have to tell you one more time to GET OUT OF HERE, I'm going to lop off all your heads off, you got that!" she wanted to scream, but it only came out as a hoarse croak and the effort made her cough endlessly. Spluttering, she sank to the ground and felt so hapless, only wishing that the cold could numb away her pain. She could never afford to forget the past - she could never forget the war because it served her as a constant reminder of the disastrous consequences if a country was not strong and stable. And it had cost Arcadia too many lives, many countless faces dying for their country that no one would remember or honour them when the sand slipped through the hour glass. As Emperor, it was her duty to the people, and the least she could do was remember them. Had the temple been brightly lit, you would see the many plaques, hundreds and hundreds of them, each with thousands of names carved in and plated with gold leaf - all the people who had sacrificed themselves for the country in the hour of need.  
  
The steps approached and she heard urgent whisperings. Some footsteps disappeared back to the open courtyards, but she still felt the presence of someone.  
  
"Rudy?" a very familiar voice spoke quietly from the darkest corner of the room. Illumi slowly revealed himself in the dim light, the darkness around him pealing away like a discarded shroud. He had hoped that she would recognize him, but he certainly did not expect an outburst of laughter and giggles. What was so funny?  
  
Emperor Rodimestov stared intently at the figure who slowly stepped into the light, and she recognized him immediately, only that she couldn't help but burst out into giggles because he looked absolutely ridiculous in the formal clothing. Male's clothing. Arcadian men were mostly broad shouldered, muscular and stocky, and hence the fashion was usually designed to accommodate the body figure. However, Illumi was tall and slender coupled with the perfect hourglass figure that women would sacrifice twenty years of their life just to have. And thus the clothes barely clung to him, the belt dangled uselessly and the sash across the shoulder had this frequent tendency to slide off. The boots he was wearing was probably two sizes too large the sleeves swallowed up half his hand.  
  
Rudy laughed so hard that her stomach ached and tears trailed down her face as she lay, curled up on the old stone floor. Illumi finally understood and two bright spots of pink appeared on his pale cheeks.  
  
"So these aren't the exact fit." He muttered harshly and flapped his arms around in annoyance. He reminded Rudy of a toddler trying on his dad's clothing which were ten sizes too large, and the howls of laughter only increased, and she begged him to stop, gasping and rasping for breath.  
  
"Should I get changed then? Because you obviously can't form any coherent words right now."  
  
Rudy tried her best to nod, but her shoulders shook violently from the effort to suppress the laughter and she waved her hand at him dismissively, tell him to shoo and come back, dressed a bit more respectably, otherwise she would, in all seriousness, die from the laughter.  
  
The assassin stormed back out into the bright open and they all looked at him quizzically, wondering why he carried such a frown on his face. Behind them loomed the large figure of the Palace Guardian - Berenger - wielder of the merciless two-headed executioner's axe. He dwarfed Wing and Faust, and made the younger boys look like a couple of sticks. His arms were so massively banded with bulging muscles that just one look at them made you look at him respectfully. On his head sat a mop of unruly blonde hair, obviously dyed because the deep brown roots were quite stark in comparison. His skin was coarse, and an ugly scar ran down the side of his left face. When Gon asked him how that happened, he replied that he had cut himself shaving. Slung across his broad back was yet another frightening sword - graciously dubbed "Widowmaker" - a most handy and reliable backup should ever his axe leave his strong iron grip. In the late morning, its goldern handle gleamed like a sparkling jewel.  
  
"We hear the Emperor's laughter. This must be a good sign." He said in a congratulatory tone to Illumi. He was obviously oblivious to Illumi's gathering anger.  
  
"She started laughing the moment she saw me in these badly fitted clothes." He fumed with the sudden urge to rip off the annoying sleeves. Viciously glaring at his companions, he noticed their puffy cheeks and slight shivering of shoulders and instantly realized that they were laughing at him too. His gaze flattened, and he turned towards the Doctor.  
  
Faust's control over himself momentarily slipped under Illumi's penetrating gaze and the amusement simply slipped out of him. And affected everyone else. Berenger laughed good humouredly and plucked up Illumi from the waist, throwing him up into the air like a child. Illumi shrieked at the sudden move, and the Palace Guardian laughed even more, the booming bass of his voice could be felt by everyone.  
  
"Let me go this instant!" Illumi shrieked, struggling uselessly in Berenger's iron grip.  
  
"Haha…you sound so much like a woman." Berenger mused and gave the slim waist a tight squeeze. Unexpected and caught off balance again, Illumi shrieked in fright and silently reprimanded himself for it. Everyone is in uncontrollably fits of giggles, and the Emperor staggered out, still clutching her stomach and was now laughing so hard at the scene in front of her that she was down on her knees. Berenger grinned.  
  
"By the power vested in me as Palace Guardian, whose duty it is to protect the Emperor, I know pronounce you, Illumi Zoldick, as the official court jester and pin cushion. Whenever the Emperor is upset, we will make her happy, at your expense."  
  
Illumi twisted sharply and broke free, landing gracefully on his feet…only that his attire wouldn't allow him to look graceful, and even Karen-chan hid her wide smile behind a fine white hand.  
  
Rudy miraculously managed to recover her seriousness and looked up to the Palace Guardian.  
  
"I'm going to go out. There is something I need to deliver." It was curt, blunt and direct, and it defied any questioning. Yet Berenger was not too sure, and a deep frown set in. The great muscles on his chest heaved as he breathed in deeply. Kurapika likened Berenger to Ubogin, but had to admit that the Palace Guardian's physique was even more impressive than that Genei Ryodan member.  
  
"With all respects sire, since your Pledge is coming up in two days time, we don't think it will be so safe for you outside the Forbidden Palace."  
  
"Nonsense" Rudy scoffed. "I am the Emperor, and the people love me."  
  
"I'm sorry Rudy" Berenger said seriously "but we've got news that the rebels are in town, with the specific purpose of either capturing or killing you. I have been informed by Kastro that the rebels have aligned themselves with pretty dangerous people too. So I'm afraid I can't let you leave," his eyes hardened unbearably "and no, the Voice will not work on me. You know that."  
  
The Emperor stamped her foot hard in frustration. Suddenly, all her problems and memories came flooding back like a massive tidal wave, and everyone felt it too. "Damnit! I saved this country and now I can't step out of my palace! What is the world coming to?!"  
  
"It will only be for the next two days, sire." Berenger stood firm.  
  
"Argh! How am I supposed to make a speech when I don't have any inspiration! Berenger, listen to me, you will let me leave the Forbidden Palace." Her voice took on an odd note, tuned precisely to compel enforcement.  
  
Everyone who heard her voice shivered slightly and had the overriding impulse to step aside and make way for the fragile girl. But the Palace Guardian stood firm, rooted to his position by sheer will power alone, and defied his Emperor, for her own good of course.  
  
"There are rebels in the city." He repeated strenuously. "You would be in danger if you didn't go out there with an armed escort. Please return to your living quarters."  
  
Rudy's eyes blazed with unholy anger and she would have thrown a childish tantrum had not Illumi stepped in between her and the giant man. He looked directly into Berenger's cerulean eyes with something almost akin to a hypnotic stare.  
  
"Do you defy the word of your Emperor?" he asked quietly.  
  
Berenger stuttered. "No, but - "  
  
"Then you'll let her leave the Palace. I will look after her." He continued, voice still soft, smooth and unruffled. Anything left of Berenger's defences melted away like ice cream left out on a hot summer's day. Illumi still did not break eye contact, and he held Berenger's gaze with savage determination, masked deceitfully with his quiet demeanor.  
  
"Please return to your post, Guardian. You are no longer required here."  
  
Berenger stiffly gave a salute and turned to walk away. Those who did see his expression was shocked for it was a look torn in the midst of an awful struggle between his will and the command imposed on him.  
  
Rudy whooped with joy and rushed back into the temple. She promptly returned, shouldering a huge iron box, rusty and smelly with age, showing signs of being buried underground for some considerable time.  
  
"Come on Illumi. I'm going to get changed…and you too. Perhaps one of the maids can lend you some of their clothes, they'd probably be a better fit."  
  
Illumi refrained from replying and held himself erect, putting a lot of his disapproval into one sniff. 


	18. Chapter 17

I thank everyone on the hxh mailing list for their wonderful comments. Feel free to add more! Hehe.  
  
I won't be updating for the next two weeks…well, maybe not, I'll see how bored I am with my studying *groan*. So enjoy this chapter folks.  
  
  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Edmond Striker was only seventeen this year. His hair was unfashionably cropped, blonde to set him apart from all his dark haired peers, and a large nose that frightened away most girls his age. The last he saw his dad was exactly five years ago when his dad joined the war because of some foolish ideal called 'honour and duty'. His thoughts were bitter about his father's decision to leave home. Look where it got him – dead, leaving his wife and two children to fend for themselves. His father had two brothers, another who had died, and the youngest crippled with one leg amputated. His uncle now stayed with him in the Capital, living off the adequate widow benefits that his dear mom received from the State. His dad was Albert 'Eagle-eye' Striker, for before he gave his life and services to the country, he had been a master assassin, a sniper who killed with every shot.  
  
But now he was dead, his body blown to bits by some stray bomb in the midst of the chaos of war, and his life continued. In his home, along the walls hung an array of sniper guns, some antiquated, some were modern and boasted long distances. And Edmond secretly trained himself to be a professional sniper to follow in his father's footsteps.  
  
It was the Coronation festival, which would last until the end of the week, after the Emperor gave her Pledge to the country. And then school would resume, and Edmond would once again be ostracized by his peers for his queer looks and large nose. Not that he minded of course – for assassins don't have friends. His mother and uncle bade him go out this morning to buy some ribbons, nice satin ribbons as a gift to his youngest sister, who was turning seven tomorrow. She was two when father left home.  
  
His anger and bitterness continued to gnaw at him, and he hated every bright colour and banner floating in the cool breeze. His father stupidly gave his life to a haughty child with over idealistic dreams, and so Albert destroyed his entire family. And the gall of the people around them to clap and cheer when the war was barely over, and the graves barely furnished. It was enough to set his blood boiling. Recently, he came into contact with some mysterious people who gave him a most delightful proposition to consider. It involved his skill with a gun.  
  
Gloomily, he reached the respectable house which he called home, passed the front gate and wearily pushed open the door. He glanced back in suspicion as two people, two strangers, pushed past the gateway and slowly approached him.  
  
One was a lanky, skinny teenager bearing the emblem of the Forbidden Palace. The other must be a privileged maid, tall and beautiful, out of the Forbidden Palace for a holiday perhaps, which was rare, but not unheard of. The Emperor was not so attached to tradition as the ones before her. The teenager raised her baseball cap slightly in acknowledgement of Edmond Striker and the maid looked about her without much fascination, idly twirling her luscious black hair in her fine, slim fingers.  
  
"Striker residence?" the teenager asked. Edmond gruffly nodded, unsure.  
  
"Ed, is someone at the door?" he heard his mother's approaching voice. Claire Striker was an ordinary woman, slightly plump due to her age and had graying brown hair tied back in a tight bun. She carried with her an aura of pleasantness and generosity, and a smile which inspired trust from any child.  
  
Rudy, disguised as an Official Deliverer, gave the older woman a slight bow, and Illumi likewise curtsied with the true airs of a serving maid.  
  
"We have a delivery for one Claire Striker? May we come in?" Rudy asked casually, carefully using another tone of voice so that she couldn't be identified.  
  
Edmond reluctantly let them in, his despise for them carefully masked. But Illumi, who had covered his emotions for years on end, noticed immediately and decided to keep a careful eye on the teenager. His eyes immediately flew over the surroundings of the small, cosy house. The living room hidden in some corner, and round table with four chairs tucked neatly inside, and just further back, the kitchen. He was rather impressed by the sniper guns displayed on the walls, and noticed on a small shelf, two spirit tablets, with names engraved. Rudy's small cough bought his attention back to the subject at hand. Claire offered tea, which Rudy refused politely, and another man, a cripple by the name of Alfonse Striker sat down and stared hard at them.  
  
The young Emperor dug into the shoulder bag and carefully produced a tattered and dirty envelop with faded words on the front. You could still clearly make out an address and a name however, and she handed it over to the older woman. Edmond, who stood behind his uncle, leaned forward to get a good glimpse of the letter and gasped.  
  
"It's dad's writing."  
  
Rudy also leaned forward to examine the note. "Striker…is a very familiar name. Would that be Eagle-eye Striker that we are talking about?"  
  
"You know my father?" Edmond asked incredulously.  
  
Rudy silently watched as Claire took the letter out of the envelop with shaking hands and wet eyes. She sat down next to her brother in law so they could both read and study the letter. And by the time they finished, Alfonse's face was impassive and Claire had broken down into small sobs.  
  
"Eagle-eye Striker was a legendary sniper in General Deathstalker's army. He first fought with the Emperor at the old Battlefields of Holt, where this letter was written. However, he survived that encounter and was transferred to Deathstalker's personal division." Rudy glanced at the spirit tablets. "I take it he's not with you anymore."  
  
"No," Claire replied unsteadily, carefully dabbing at her eyes. "He will always be in my heart."  
  
"Do you know…how dad died?" Edmond probed.  
  
Rudy had to choose her words carefully. As Emperor, of course she knew how the legendary Striker died, and in a gloriously heroic way too. But she was now an Imperial Delivery person, so she kept the details strictly vague.  
  
"Why haven't you heard? He saved General Deathstalker's life in the Battle of Runn when his division was cut off from the main army for at least six hours. He fought continuously and broke through the encirclement so that the General could take control of the army again. That was a decisive and much needed victory for it secured Arcadia's eastern front. That was about two years ago. Haven't you been given notice? You should be allowed entry into the Forbidden Palace when the Emperor gives her Pledge – all relatives of those who have been awarded Hero of Arcadia are allowed to be present."  
  
Edmond looked at Rudy incredulously. "Hero of Arcadia? But that's the highest award…"  
  
"And it is the greatest honour. As we know it, General Deathstalker awarded Striker that title posthumously. I will remind Headquaters to send you your invitations immediately. And oh…" she dug into her bag again, and produced some items clearly marked and labeled in clear plastic bags. She laid them neatly on the table.  
  
"Do you recognize any of these articles?"  
  
The items ranged from old watches to wedding rings, wallets, photos and other bits of personal items. Edmond's keen eyes immediately spotted his father's old leather banded watch.  
  
"How did you find his things?" Claire asked, new tears in her eyes again. Rudy coughed politely.  
  
"The Emperor knew that not everyone would make it out of Holt alive that day. So apparently, she got all the troops to write down any last words, just in case, and any other person artifacts that the soldiers wished to leave to their loved ones. They were all carefully sealed and placed in an iron chest and buried, which was recently re-discovered and delivered to the Forbidden Palace. All the other items and letters will be sent in time."  
  
Alfonse Striker, the crippled brother of Albert nodded appreciatively and quickly wiped at the corner of his eye. Rudy stepped forth, hesitantly and looked at Claire.  
  
"Why did your husband join the war?" she asked softly.  
  
Claire gazed back, her eyes unfocused. "He heard the Emperor's rally on the radio one day, and he believed every word she had to say. He said to me, if a child could pick up a shovel and start to dig a trench when the city was under siege whilst everyone else was ready to abandon the city, then he too could lend his services to the country. And I'm proud of what he did because he did not fall down in the country's greatest hour of need. He took his gun and joined the Emperor's rally, and that path led him to glory."  
  
Rudy fought to keep her eyes dry. She turned to the spirit tablets. "May I?"  
  
Alfonse nodded and the Emperor personally lit she fragile sticks of incense and bowed low before those tablets, then stuck the incense into the pot of ash.  
  
"The Emperor said that everyone will be heroes, and that no one will be forgotten." She murmured quietly, as if to herself. "No matter who you were, what you did, be you rapist or murderer, if you have the courage to defend the country with your blood and life, then you are a patriot, and your sins forgiven." Her eyes narrowed slightly, determined not to cry anymore.  
  
"For what is the greatest test of courage and honour than the chaos and terror of the battlefield, the raging inferno of a city gripped by siege and bombing, and to confront enemy tanks without an iota of fear? Your life is the greatest gift to the country, and the Emperor will not forget."  
  
She slowly turned to Edmond. "I see that you are bitter, but know what your father bought for you in return for his life."  
  
In that exact moment, inspiration came to her in a sudden flash, and all of a sudden, the Monk's words made perfect sense to her, and she knew exactly what she would say when she approached the altar and made her everlasting pledge to the nation.  
  
She bowed again to the family and bid them a good day. Illumi dutifully followed her.  
  
Back out in the open, Rudy breathed in deeply. She had finally found the answer to all her troubles, finally understood her problems, and the relief from the burden was refreshing. She looked at the multitude of coloured banners flying in the wind, the gradually increasing din of the people in the capital and saw something that she failed to see before. She brightly smiled up and looked at Illumi.  
  
"I'm hungry. Lets go find something to eat."  
  
Illumi nodded, giving her a small smile to show that he was pleased that she was no longer plagued by unhappiness. He had an answer for her too, and he would give her the most wonderful present.  
  
Edmond's mother gave a small sigh and placed the watch next to her husband's tablet. She gave him a small smile, and went back to the kitchen to fix lunch while Alfonse declared that he would take a walk in the park.  
  
Edmond glanced at the letter and felt his anger and bitterness sway. He was torn with indecision.  
  
~ I give my life to the country, Claire, because duty and honour call. I may be an assassin, but when my kinsmen are murdered en masse, sent to be tortured in concentration camps and subdued into brutal slavery, I can no longer stand back and watch. It is my duty to ensure that my family will meet no harm, and I will not let my son and daughter live in such a cruel and terrible world. May he never know of the horrors of a war like this – and I willingly purchase this with my life. Take care of the children, and tell them to hold their head up high. ~  
  
Slowly, he made his way to the phone and dialed a number.  
  
"Liam, I'm afraid I will not take part in your schemes anymore. Find yourself another sniper." And with that, he hung up the phone and placed the letter neatly under his father's spirit tablet – Albert Striker, awarded Hero of Arcadia. He was not a fool.  
  
  
  
===========  
  
Alluka had awoken to a silent room. His back felt slightly numb, slightly raw, slightly tender, and he was afraid to put any more pressure on it then necessary. But his mind, hideously augmented by whatever terrifying ordeal he faced four years ago, allowed him to reach out to his surroundings and found that there was quite a lot of excitement buzzing around.  
  
He ran a mental check of his body's systems, and noticed that some spinal distanglements had been miraculously rectified. He also noticed that the anesthetic that had shut off his mind was already ebbing away, the last traces finally wearing off. That was a good sign. And no matter how tender and delicate his back felt, his mental body scan told him that all was in perfect order, and if half a mountain came crashing down on him right now, he could easily punch his way out and laugh without so much as breathing hard. Whatever experiments had been conducted on him years ago had drastically altered his mind, and he was more than a nen user – he had the extra added capabilities of an esper, utilizing the unfounded mysteries of his brain to channel his thoughts and make them a reality. And so everything and everyone was just another object on his constantly sweeping radar in his mind, and he easily navigated through the endless courtyards, corridors and halls of the Forbidden Palace, perfectly able to visualize his entire surroundings in his mind.  
  
And he liked walking. He found the idea of being attached to the confines of gravity quite assuring, and marveled at the way his legs held up without a single tremble – even after so many years of disuse. He had his brother to thank of course, and believed that he could not have struggled for so many long and eternal years on end with his miserable nightmares had Illumi not been there to comfort him.  
  
His delicate and rather angelic face creased into a slight frown. His brother's presence was not in the Forbidden Palace, but the rest of his family were. Had Illumi fled so abruptly without saying goodbye to him? Had he been the weak and crippled Alluka, he might have cried, but now, he only felt a little regret and sadness, but knew that dad had been terribly angry at Illumi's actions of late, so it might be wise to flee and hide, just for the moment.  
  
He sensed that his older brother Killua was not far off, and with a lot of people around him too, including the other two Zoldick siblings. He grinned slightly. It was time to reveal the new him, the sane, calm and composed Alluka, the professional assassin who was now just a cut above the ordinary humanity with his enhanced psionic powers. But he would hide it for as long as necessary, for it was always wise to have an extra ace up his sleeve that no one else should really know about.  
  
Koran had returned, dragging a limp and unconscious Hisoka with him to the infirmary room where Illumi had been resting before. Only that the Zoldick assassin had already come around, and no one knew where he went. All his brothers and sisters idly sat around on the shallow stone steps, wondering what on earth was happening, and why they had sudden gaps in their memory, and Zuchi continued to practice his hatsu. Koran didn't receive any special orders from his mentor, the old Eunuch busy discussing things with the Generals after the interrogation ended. So he too, sat idly, waiting for some fun, and cast a glance back at Hisoka now and then, just to check when he would wake up.  
  
"Hey Karu, what time is it?" Alluka pleasantly asked, approaching the group easily. Everyone turned and marveled at the way he so gracefully moved, after the years of incapacitation.  
  
"It's late morning, almost twelve." Karuto responded, drawing the doll closer to her. Whatever elation she felt for her brother, she lacked the expression to show. And Milluki sighed with relief and clapped his young brother on the back.  
  
"Glad you're back on your feet, 'xcuse the pun. So Allu, what's the first thing you want to do?"  
  
Alluka pondered on this quietly, and his eyes finally laid on the jewel of the Zoldick family – the successor with supposed talents that the Zoldick had never seen before. He had a quiet mind to quickly rectify everyone's thoughts on that matter – not with his psi powers, but in a real duel. He perfectly raised the corners of his mouth into a mildly amusing and non threatening smile.  
  
"How about it bro" he addressed Killua "you and me, one on one, right here, right now to see who gets to be the Zoldick successor."  
  
Alluka quickly studied the group of people sitting there, and pointed to Koran.  
  
"You are probably the most impartial of us all, having no ties or connections with either of us. You be the judge."  
  
The young eunuch nodded amiably. It was not uncommon to see people honing their martial skills in the Forbidden Palace, and frankly, it was a sport he greatly loved, until it turned tragically dull once Master Echlan bought his skills to an entire new level and everyone was just so beneath him these days.  
  
"Alluka, are you sure?" Leorio regarded him with concern. "You've just recovered from your operation, and I think you shouldn't be exerting myself."  
  
"Of course I won't be exerting myself." Alluka replied simply, the insult fully intended. He quickly added "And I feel great. My body is telling me that everything's fine, and nothing short of dad can really hurt me." And dad probably couldn't hurt me, unless he really tried, he silently added.  
  
Killua stood up in a humph of angry airs, and moments later, two albino children were cautiously circling the other, penetrating eyes searching for any possible weaknesses in each other's stance. Koran nodded appreciatively.  
  
"Not bad" he casually muttered, and motioned for them to fight.  
  
Killua naturally thought that he had the upper hand in speed over Alluka, his younger brother having barely returned to using his legs. But he soon realized that he was wrong…terribly wrong. Alluka movements were as unpredictable as the wind, and he split into multiple images of himself.  
  
Damn! Killua thought silently to himself. That was a high level assassin technique, one that he had been trying to (unsuccessfully) master before he left home. He glared at Alluka in a new light and tried to clear his head. He told himself steadily that only one of them could be fake, and a simple disruption would shatter the illusion. So he steadied himself, placed himself in the most advantageous spot to unleash his electrical nen. The images rippled like water when a pebble fell in, but Alluka only laughed lightly, and the images instantly sprung back, the younger assassin once again lost within the many splitting images of himself.  
  
Killua settled to defining the real Alluka with his own eyes and chuckled mercilessly when Alluka missed a step in the rhythm and betrayed himself in that fraction of a second. Killua darted forward with his incredible speed and felt Alluka's shirt shredding in his fingernails. But that was all he grasped – just bits of light blue cotton from his brother's collar, and grimaced to see similar claw marks slashed across the lower flaps of his own shirt too. Killua gritted his teeth in frustration – he could hear his friends cheering him on, and the fat pig's mocking taunts. Time to get serious. That was his last shirt that he could actually pull his head through!  
  
Killua and Alluka met in a flurry of blows, trying to find each other's weaknesses, gaps in each other's defence. Alluka's hand flashed like a steel sword, flashing forward almost licking Killua's skin with each swipe. Killua granted and ducked down, surprising his younger brother and lurched forward, his shoulder knocking the wind out of Alluka. The image of Alluka shattered and Killua immediately realized that he had fallen for a trap and without thinking burst forward with his remaining strength, just to miss the executing blow that Alluka launched from behind.  
  
"Killu! Allu! Stop fighting this instant!" they both shuddered, hearing their mother's ear piercing shriek of outrage. She glared at both of them, daring them to defy her word and rush at each other again.  
  
"Alluka!" she reprimanded "You have ruined your brother's shirt!" Kikyou immediately fussed over her favourite son and cooed comforting words whilst Killua looked to his friends for help.  
  
Karen couldn't help but think that she saw a passing glint of disappointment in Alluka's eyes, and she thought that he heard his voice waver slightly when he muttered a passing comment. With slumped shoulders, he was about to turn to leave when his grandpa blocked his path.  
  
"It's good to see you walking again." Zeno patted his grandson's shoulder comfortingly and smiled.  
  
"I can start working straight away." The albino replied eagerly, anxious to please his elders.  
  
"That's ok Allu, we'll gradually have to build up your experience first. Don't worry, you'll be working soon enough." Silva added, clearly impressed with his youngest son's performance when he spied on them from far away.  
  
"It's about lunch time. I'll get the royal chefs to get things started…" Echlan stopped and starred at the large group sitting leisurely on the shallow stone steps basking in the summer sun.  
  
"Is it just me…or?" he gestured for Koran to step forward and peered in fascination.  
  
"Koran! Where have you been in the past hour?" he demanded.  
  
"With respect mentor, I was….I was…" Koran couldn't respond because Illumi had also starred deeply at them all before and requested their silence on the Emperor's course of action to leave the Forbidden Palace against the orders of security. Even if Koran knew what happened an hour ago, he couldn't work his jaw to form the words.  
  
The only reason that Echlan noticed something amiss was due to deep training, sensitivity and well trained inner eye that allowed him see the fine, tight webbing of nen wrapped around not only Koran, but everyone else as well, so well hidden by 'in'. With a fascinated hand, he took hold of the almost intangible nen construct and with an abrupt movement, ripped the web off and let the fine silks of the strange nen construct dangle sickly off his fingers. Koran let out an explosive breath as he found himself free from invisible constraints.  
  
"Oh Killu! Poor baby, you've been manipulated by your brother!" Kikyou sobbed hysterically and savagely helped her son free.  
  
Kamus studied the rapidly fading webs of shimmering gossamer threads in awe.  
  
"Is this it Kikyou? Is this how Illumi controls people?"  
  
"My gods Berenger! You look like you've run a marathon!" Misha exclaimed. The giant who loomed over him was drenched with sweat from head to toe, his muscles contracting in agony and several veins stood up beneath the thick skin.  
  
"He's got those threads all over him too! Hold on Berenger, I'll get rid of those for you." Misha clawed at the web with bony fingers and tried to support the Palace Guardian, who almost collapsed from sheer exhaustion of struggling against the condition imposed on him.  
  
"The Emperor has left the Forbidden Palace." He gasped weakly, wiping the sweat from his brow. Misha almost dropped him in fear.  
  
"Damnit!" he grated. "The rebels are lurking outside like sewer rats! Should we mobilize every guard that we have?" his grey armor rapidly materialized on his shoulders and extended to cover his torso.  
  
"Keep your cool Misha. If we send out the troops, everyone will know something's wrong. If we do nothing, the situation could blow over their heads and the rebels won't notice. Their information network is not extensive as it seems, and I don't think they've got the nerve to hang around the Forbidden Palace." General Kamus quickly ran through the options and possibilities out loud.  
  
"The most important thing to know is who she went with. Berenger, is she alone? Or did she take a maid at least?"  
  
"She went with Illumi." Faust provided, shaking his head as if in an attempt to clear it. "What on earth happened?"  
  
"Illumi?" Echlan blinked. "He's barely alive, let alone be able to walk."  
  
"Uh, correction. He was as healthy as he has usually been when we last saw him." Leorio added.  
  
"He just looked at me and told me to return to my post, and I couldn't say no or hold my ground." Berenger's enormous fist crushed the stone beneath him in frustration as he sat to regain his strength.  
  
"You see what I mean ni-chan!" Kikyou's voice was getting ever the louder and ever the high pitched. "You can't defy his will or his words. If he wanted you to die, you'd rip out your own throat without hesitation."  
  
Misha snapped his fingers in recollection. "Just like that man we saw in Hisoka's memories. Illumi told him to die, and he instantly fell on his sword without question." The fine blue thread gradually disappeared in the wind, and he let the rest slip through his thin fingers. "He imposes a condition, materializes a web that absorbs the person's strength whenever he struggles against the threads, and then controls the nen so that it completely obeys the condition set. It is cruel and at the same time, subtle. I like it."  
  
"Are you saying that he's recovered his natural nen abilities?"  
  
Misha laughed out loud, in a maniacal sort of way. "Then Rudy's safe. Alarm's over and lets sit down and have lunch. I'm starving."  
  
"It does reassure me a bit more, but still, alert all guards on patrol to look out for the Emperor. What did she dress as when – "  
  
A half filled can of beer hit Silva straight in the face without warning. 


	19. Chapter 175

Chapter 17.5  
  
Sorry folks, again, I was dissatisfied again with the way the previous chapter turned out, and felt a need to explain some things and add something extra. So here we go, another half a chapter extended. Hope you guys enjoy. I sure am!  
  
Note: By the way, I've been so obsessed with the Deathstalker novels lately that I borrowed the name from Simon Green's novels in honour of the main character's memory. Also, I made reference to a place called "Shandrakor" in this chapter as well. I freely admit that I did not make this name, and again, it belongs to Simon Green – I'm merely borrowing it because I like the sound of it (  
  
Rudy and Illumi sat on the highest roof of the Forbidden Palace which gave them a commanding view of the large and extensive, but silent city only accessible to royalty. Stone ornaments dotted the many other lower roofs, their red slated roofs dully gleaming under the sun, others slightly battered by the years and lack of renovation. Some birds had made comfortable nests and homes within the cracks underneath the beams that supported all the massive structures. On Illumi's warm lap lay the biggest cat he ever did lay his eyes on. It had a gleaming black coat, save for the white tips (he'd prefer to call them 'socks') on all four feet of the cat. It was obviously a stray cat when it had jumped out of nowhere and landed into his open arms when the Emperor and Illumi slowly made their way back to the Forbidden Palace. The assassin decided that he liked the cat very much, its large green eyes, its warm furry body pressed against his, and those purrs of comfort whenever he stroked the cat's large belly. It's name was Cat, and it meowed in pleasure when Illumi absentmindedly ticked him underneath the chin.  
  
"Most brilliant view…" Rudy drawled with a can of beer in her slim hand. She looked about her with pride and dominance with the expression of great content, like a hard laborer reaping the fruits of his work. "And all of it mine." She took another long draft from the can, emptying it in one great go and carelessly dropped the container down onto the ground, far, far below. Around her lay bags and bags of lunch, scattered messily around the pair of them. There were jumbo size packets of chips, chocolate coated biscuits, gummi bears, bars of rich chocolate and an assortment of other grossly sugar coated junk, enough to satisfy a thousand ant colonies for five years.  
  
Illumi nibbled happily on a chocolate teddy and gestured for Rudy to step away from the ledge. She snuggled up comfortably beside him, head resting lightly against the soft, delicate pink sleeves of a maid's uniform.  
  
"Rudy, I've noticed something."  
  
"Oh?" she opened another can of beer.  
  
"All women have long hair, even the young girls, and all men have short hair. Why isn't your hair long too?" he glanced at her rather short and, if he were truly frank, unhealthy and poorly conditioned hair and wondered why it was neither short nor long, just clinging to the base of her neck. It suddenly made him feel self conscious about the ribbons he had twined in his hair when the Emperor looked at his own lustrous mane wistfully.  
  
"A lot of things are forbidden to me." She began slowly, carefully choosing her words. "There have never been Emperors before me who have been women. In fact, women never had much political power or any say in the first place. They were merely economic and political conveniences – mainly to be married off to establish those sorts of links and ties. But there were a few prominent women who were quite active in court – and your aunt would be one of them, even though I never met her. Kimone Kalinnan Kastro was one of those who demonstrated a fine a sharp mind with a deadly grasp of intrigue and politics. The Empress despised her because she saw in Kimone the sort of person she could never be – a righteous and honourable person who could always be trusted to rely on herself, a person who held power that was actually legitimate back in the days of Rodimostev II. And the Empress hated her because her power was precarious and it depended on how well she pleasured and satisfied Rodimostev II in bed. I think deep down, women were never proud of earning power that way, and thus the Empress wanted to destroy the very thing which reminded her of just how dirty she had become." She sighed slightly. "Had Kimone been alive in my time, I would have made her a proper Imperial Official – something that has never been done before."  
  
Rudy looked deeply into Illumi's eyes and reflected upon her soul.  
  
"And I am Emperor, because I pulled the country together when I was only nine years old, and stood in the face overwhelming odds and not once did I falter. I am the Emperor because my compassion and commitment with the people rallied them all to arms so that we could defeat the enemy. And yet, even though I held the banner as we stormed the enemy's capital and proclaimed victory, I was still a girl. I still am a girl, but it was clear that the people would accept no one but me as their Emperor." There was slight bitterness in her voice and a great weary of carrying a burden far heavier than she should ever be expected to carry.  
  
Illumi shrugged and popped a gummi bear into his mouth. "I always believed that the most competent person should sit in the seat of power, regardless of sex."  
  
"It's not that simple. Being a woman means that you're born into many restrictions already – simple things, like having to give up your name when you marry into another family, or the constant pressures of a society dominated by men and so you have to constantly prove yourself to the world." The can of beer was crushed in Rudy's tight fist. "But I am the only person worthy of sitting on the throne, the only one who can rebuild this country, so I must make concessions of sorts. One of the first things was my hair. The Emperor has always been a figurehead and symbol of power and dominance, and having long hair would ruin that image. So Echlan persuaded me to keep it short, and keep it that way. And my Royal Robes – they are of male design, but specifically tailored to fit me properly of course. But no, I can't wear a dress, and I believe I haven't worn one ever since I dug that trench in Shandrakor. And I will never marry because I will never give up this power that I have….no….I sacrificed too much to secure this seat, seen too many people put their trust in me to guide their country and die, not just so some jerk can take this from me." She ripped open a packet of salt and vinegar chips. "So basically, I will be alone and secluded from the normal life that other teenage girls live."  
  
Illumi accepted a handful chips and sniffed precariously at the staggering smell of vinegar which hit his nostrils and almost bought tears to his eyes. Strong stuff.  
  
"Sometimes, I see clusters of girls my age, giggling, laughing, talking to each other on mobile phones and reading fashion magazines, looking for the perfect diet. A part of me sometimes wish I could live that kind of life, a life without responsibilities, where I can act my age and flirt." She set the chips aside and reached for the beer again. "But I think my childhood died during the war, and then I think to myself: can I really go back to wearing short skirts with ribbons twined in my hair and babbling mindlessly about how much I admire the latest singer?" she snorted. "I think not."  
  
"No" Illumi agreed. "You've seen too much to remain a child anymore. I lost my innocence when I turned three, and I've always wondered if I can ever reclaim it."  
  
"You must have trained to become an assassin at an early age." Rudy observed.  
  
"Yes, assassin's blood flows through me, whether I wanted it or not. Did you know Rudy, that when you touched my soul, my earliest memories suddenly became all the more clearer again, like I suddenly awaken from a mind numbing dream that has been so vague and fleeting all these years? With my powers, I could have fashioned any life for myself that I wanted, and my parents didn't allow that, so they threw me into the Black Room and kept me in there for three months. I could have been anything that I wanted Rudy," his voice thickened with emotion. "I could have done anything because my power allowed it, and it had potential for plenty more. But these past twenty years have been a dark dream and I lost direction. The only thing that reminded me of what I could be was Hisoka. It was only through him that I retained the barest link with my emotions. He gave a scrap about me, and always looked after me whenever I became seriously injured in my assignments. I think I didn't like him at first, but he was persistent, and I'm adaptable. Soon, we became each other's habit, and we got used to each other's presence and accompaniment. I quietly rejoiced, knowing that I always had someone to turn to, but Hisoka became frightened that he had become attached. So he used Gon against me, and threatened to hurt me if I did something nasty to Gon. I refused to believe that all the years we had spent together meant nothing to him, but I swore that I would not contact him until he did first. I waited one painful year, and he finally called me, but only to acquire my (paid) services. That disappointed me, and after another year, I felt ready to give up on him," Illumi gave a small smile "but then he dragged me out of the masses of people, here in Arcadia and gave me a big hug. Afterwards, he almost became desperate to seek my forgiveness." Rudy grinned and pretended not to notice the streak of light pink across the top of Illumi's nose.  
  
Did you know Rudy? My power is derived on my emotions and moods. With complete access to them now, I can realize my full potential, and I have you to thank as well. You, Hisoka, Karen-chan and all my younger siblings are the most important people in my life."  
  
Illumi raised his can of beer to her in respect and likewise took a deep draught. Perhaps he was slightly affected by the alcohol that he was discussing his deepest secrets so openly with the young girl, but then and again, they were alike in many ways.  
  
"I am now finally free, and I know exactly what I want to do. I want to leave home. I detest everything at home – my freezing room, the way Silva treats me, always being excluded from family events. I hate that feeling so damn much! I think even after all these years, it still hurts every time I sit by myself in my cold room, facing four blank walls knowing that they were happily celebrating new year of something upstairs in the dining room. Sometimes, I just sat there, and could almost feel the tears that I couldn't shed. I so desperately wished that I could join them and take my seat in those family dinners, because I had loved them once, and they had loved me too, before they discovered what I could do."  
  
"Do you hate your parents?" Rudy probed gently.  
  
"No, I don't hate them, I just dislike them, very much. And now that I am who I was destined to be, I am going to do what has been denied to me for so long. I am going to laugh, cry, be happy, be sad, be angry, know envy and enjoy everything that life has to offer. It's strange you know, having to deal with emotions so bright and vivid, but I think I'm already getting the hang of it."  
  
"That's the spirit!" Rudy said happily and hopped to her feet. "That's what I learnt today, something that I had always known, but just became forgotten under the piles and piles of documents and papers I had to sign and all the work that comes with my position. The Future, the way Ahead. That's what I missed. I forgot to ask myself why people willingly gave up their lives in the war. It wasn't just for the defence of this country, it was for the defence of their future, the road that lies ahead and to make sure that it is a well paved road and free from obstacles, nightmares and horrors." She lifted her arms to the sky as if she were receiving the ultimate truth from the heavens.  
  
"That's why they all weren't afraid of death Illumi. Because they knew that with their lives, they were purchasing a future for us all, for their children and their grandchildren to come. Men walked straight into Hell and never flinched because there was a cause greater than just the defence of Arcadia, or the need to revenge for those who suffered so terribly."  
  
Rudy's laughter filled the heavy calm about them, lifting the still winds with a refreshing breeze because the nen all around them reflected her mood, and right now, she felt as free as any seagull drifting and soaring in the boundless skies.  
  
"Hold your head up high and face the future because that's where the endless possibilities await. Yes, it is all so clear now. I know exactly which path to choose, which course of action to take."  
  
"Hmm…I always thought that the future was always uncertain." Illumi amiably argued.  
  
"It is, but I have this ability that manifested during the war and was very useful. If I have been given all the facts, then my mind can calculate all the probabilities and the impact of a different actions and the consequences that follow and so on and so on, so that the future is a clear infinite tree of possibilities of what it might be and what could happen, and in that instant, I can pick out the best one and follow that to the very end. The future is as clear as a sparkling diamond to me, and that is why I am the perfect Emperor. Only I can bring about what is the best for Arcadia, and I will not shy away from this duty, even if I have to give up my soul and humanity for Arcadia."  
  
Illumi looked at her short, lanky figure, and suddenly saw imposed upon her generations upon generations of Emperors, all expecting miracles from her. And because she had to keep Arcadia forever safe from the vengeance of her neighbouring countries, Rudy had given up her soul and all moral conscience and killed off an entire nation, just so that Arcadia could never be threatened again.  
  
"Did you always see yourself as the saviour?"  
  
"Hell no. I was just the daughter of a minor royal family with nothing special planned ahead for me." She laid on her back and starred at the open and endless sky. There was a sort of wistful expression on her face.  
  
"When the war first came, most of my family were called up for army service, leaving just me and my nanny. I was nothing exceptional then, just a little girl learning all about manners and etiquette. But I had always been somewhat stubborn I guess, and halfway into the war, when the armies finally started banging on the gates of Shandrakor, my hometown, everyone's first thought was to evacuate. There were only so many train services, meaning that not everyone could flee and there were enough televisions documentary back then showing the extent of death and carnage of other towns and villages that had fallen. The enemy took no prisoners." Her hand reached out for the nearest packet of food.  
  
"I had seen enough. I couldn't look away anymore. We were supposed to be one country damnit. One people who looked out for and protected one another. But instead, the army was constantly on the retreat and left the cities defenceless against the enemy, leaving them at anybody's mercy. There were many demoralizing stories of whole provinces surrendering, only to see most of the population shipped into labor camps and factories. I guess you can only tolerate so much suffering."  
  
The sky she was looking at blurred and shimmered into many hues of colours as tears welled up in her eyes.  
  
"And then I said – enough is enough. Whilst everyone was packing to leave, and were waiting at the outskirts of the town for other transportation services, I took out a shovel and started digging a trench to prepare for the upcoming imminent attack. I told myself that as part of the Royal Family, I had the responsibility of leading by example, because rather than ask what the people can do for me, I asked myself what I could do for the people. And gradually, people dropped their things and joined me in building fortifications around the city, laying down minefields, building wooden barricades, setting up anti aircraft artillery. No one left the city, and we all swore to die to the last one to defend it."  
  
The tears spilled out and rolled down her cheeks.  
  
"I think that day, I lost any chance of living a normal life and voluntarily took on the burden of being who I am today. You must have heard of the Siege of Shandrakor – it lasted a total of seven hundred days, and one million people died to defend it until Berenger's army came to the rescue. In those two years, I saw people die from starvation, wasting sicknesses, the devastating cold winters up north where we were and thousands upon thousands of casualties of war, men with amputated limbs, blood spilling from the surgeon's table. Everyone lived off meager rations, but didn't complain. Instead, they only became grimmer and more determined to hold their ground to the very last. It was then that I knew that childhood could never have another place in my life after what I had been through, what I had seen. I joined the army and learnt to lead and fight and was told that I could not shed tears for the dead until we had secured the ultimate victory. There will be no more tears, I told the nation, because every dead brother, sister, mother, father will only be added fuel to our anger and hatred for the enemy's onslaught against Arcadia, and should we truly wish to honour the dead, then we must go o arms and secure the safety of the nation that everyone else has died for.  
  
It wasn't until the siege was over that I realized our battle had received so much coverage and attention. I became the perfect example of the decadent and degenerating royalty. "Alannis Family upholds its duty and honour and defends its city, leading to ultimate victory" one newspaper headline had in big black letters on its front page. Radios began to broadcast my rallying speeches across the entire country," her voice quavered "and everyone responded in a single voice. People said that I was developing leadership qualities and should remain at the front as an inspiration to the army. But by then, I was too consumed with anger and hatred at what had been done to my country, how Shandrakor was barely a pile of rubble after two years of bombardment, and I went onto the battlefield and killed, as many as I could.  
  
My hands were washed with the blood of the enemy over and over again, but it was never enough. I couldn't turn a blind eye to what had happened, to villages reduced to ashes and black crumbling structures, to see widespread famine because the farms had been deliberately scorched. I urged the country to ride on this wave of toiling rage and we swore to liberate the country. I fought in countless battles, with countless legends and heroes, because it had become my duty to the people and to the country. Did I ever want to be consumed with such unholy wrath that I almost went mad and insane from the grief I experienced? Five years ago, I would have definitely answered 'no', but never once during the war did I think of what I was becoming. I was leading people to victory, that was all that mattered, and I was revenging for all the innocents slain and it would not stop until the blood of my enemy flowed like rivers in their own country. I will not stop, because there were people who needed defending, and I would not commit the same mistake as Rodimostev II and call back the army to protect the Capital whilst his people suffered. I will go out and defend them with my life, because that's why we have an Emperor, so that he can protect his people. In a way, I thought this was all that I could do to repay the grieving families for all the wrong choices of the Emperor before me. I became the new face of Royalty, what the Kalinnan family originally started out as before they all fell down to corruption"  
  
She sighed shakily and went for another can of beer, but Illumi finally stopped her from doing so.  
  
"You will be the greatest Emperor ever Rudy, ever. I have never seen such commitment and determination."  
  
"That's what they all tell me. I cannot disappoint them, especially since so many people died so that I could steer Arcadia into its glorious future. I finally understand my role. It is a duty that I should not shy away from, because only I know what's best for us all. People can call me a bloody murderer for destroying an entire race, or that I butchered my entire family to become the one and only uncontested Emperor, but I will do what necessity beckons, even if it costs me my soul." And this was said in a voice that was no longer laced with weariness or bitterness but by a voice that swelled with pride and purpose.  
  
Illumi raised his can of beer to her again, and they merrily clacked the aluminum tins together.  
  
"To the Future!" they cheered, and looking out to the endless horizon, they threw away the cans with all their might in an act of celebration and defiance to any obstacles in the future which might block their path to happiness.  
  
One of them whizzed innocently through the air, and without warning, hit Silva in the face.  
  
============  
  
"People on the roof! Identify yourself immediately!" Berenger roared from below. He barely avoided the shower of hollow beer cans.  
  
"I'm going up." Berenger grated harshly and stormed into the throne room to access the long treacherous flight of stairs to the top.  
  
"Koran, you guard the ground. We are all going up too." Echlan instructed and with ease which defied his age, followed the Palace Guardian, the other two Generals and a grumpy Silva who wanted unholy revenge.  
  
Echlan almost fainted at the mess that Rudy and Illumi made on the roof. Discarded plastic bags flew limply in the small breeze, barely held down by bags upon bags of the most disgusting junk food he had ever laid his ancient eyes on.  
  
"Sire, please step away from the ledge. It's a long fall." Berenger quietly cautioned and began to approach the pair sitting on the ground who eyed him almost uneasily, as if they were afraid that they were going to be told off and were brainstorming for excuses already.  
  
"This is madness!" Echlan rushed forward, rudely pushing Berenger aside and flipped through all the ridiculous sugar constructs. "This stuff will kill you faster and more painfully than leprosy! It is worse than garbage!" he eyed the packs upon packs of beer and his voice rose to hysterical tones which was vaguely reminiscent of Kikyou's mad voice. "You've been drinking BEER! You're not old enough to purchase such filth! It was you!" Echlan painfully gripped Illumi's slim wrist and threatened to crush it with his inhuman strength. But Illumi only looked back calmly, and also noticed that more people had also climbed appeared on the roof.  
  
"I can assure you that we've been drinking something else."  
  
"Darn right." And Rudy belched loudly, followed with uncontrolled giggling. Echlan and Berenger wrinkled their noses.  
  
"That smells like beer." Both said simultaneously.  
  
But to prove his point, Illumi picked up a can with nen flaring in his fine pale hand, then handed it to Berenger.  
  
"It's lemonade. Try it."  
  
He received flat glares from everyone, but so confident was Illumi with his new found strength and powers, he truly believed that no one could touch him anymore. Misha roughly snatched the drink from the Palace Guardian and drank half the can with one gulp and looked astonished.  
  
"Well blow me down! This IS lemonade."  
  
"Dear lords" muttered Wing. "It's manipulation, at its unachievable peak where he is able to transmute anything around him into what he desires."  
  
"You mean instead of making the water taste sweet like Killua can do, Illumi has actually changed beer into lemonade?" Gon breathed in wonder and looked at his companion's insanely jealous expression.  
  
"I can call up orange juice if you want, or coke, sprite, fanta, brandy, bourbon…anything basically."  
  
Echlan and all the Generals sucked in breaths of awe and fear.  
  
"Damn, he's got the Midas Touch." Kamus grunted and received another can from Illumi. The contents didn't fizz when he opened it, and he sniffed experimentally.  
  
"Red wine?" he took a sip and grinned. "This is good vintage you've got. You just stand right there, and I'll go grab a few barrels of water and you turn it exactly into this stuff ok?" the General grinned and quickly disappeared down the stairwell.  
  
"Ni-chan! Don't encourage him!" Kikyou called down to the rapidly disappearing figure.  
  
Silva stepped forward. "Alright, I want answers. Who threw this can of beer?"  
  
Illumi and Rudy both looked at each other. "We both did." The Emperor replied defensively and sucked her fingers clean of any attaching msg from the chips. Silva glared at the both of them, but sighed and gave up just in case the old Eunuch, the steroid case and the madman took his aggressive manner as a threat to their emperor.  
  
"Hey ani, what else can you do?" Alluka pushed past his dad and gave Illumi a big hug. Cat barely managed to scramble out of the way and dived to safety in Rudy's arms.  
  
"Allu!" Illumi pulled his younger brother back and studied him closely. He felt a wave of content and relief wash over him. "You can walk again at last. How should we celebrate?" he gently stroked Alluka's hair and gave him a small kiss on the forehead. Alluka grinned.  
  
"I'm celebrating by walking already ani. I think I'll just enjoy the pull of gravity for the time being and get used to feeding myself with my own hands again."  
  
"Ok." Rudy jumped to her feet. "I better get started on working on my speech, while the inspiration is still fresh. I'll just call a few maids and eunuchs up to clean the mess." She picked through all the food and selected the ones that she particularly liked and grinned at everyone, daring them to prevent her from walking away with her bounty.  
  
"And I will go raid the Imperial Kitchens with Hisoka." Illumi also got up and patted all the crumbs off his dress with elegant grace. He daintily jumped from the pile of garbage in his fine, soft satin shoes and Cat followed him.  
  
"Your friend is out cold, down in the room you were resting in before." Misha informed the assassin with soft dangerous tones. Much as he respected Illumi's powers, his madness created an irresistible urge to challenge the man, but only the last vestiges of sanity prevented him from actually doing so.  
  
"Oh?" Illumi inquired worriedly and hurriedly followed Rudy down the stairs  
  
"Not so fast young man!" Kikyou screeched after him, her voice rising to very loud and painful volumes. "Mama wants to talk to you about your behaviour! Illumi? Do you dare to defy your mother's orders?"  
  
She received no answer, only the increased pace of the footsteps clattering down the stairs. She swung a deadly glare to Berenger.  
  
"You people are giving him delusions of grandeur about his powers. Now he's become rebellious. Now explain what the Midas Touch is, or I'll manhandle you and throw you off the ledge this instant!" People standing by observing could only admire Kikyou's courage to stand up to a man whose arms were three times as thick as hers and weighed twice as much. Perhaps it never occurred to Kikyou that Berenger could just crush her with the swat of his massive hand, but there she was, glaring down the Palace Guardian who began to feel mighty uneasy.  
  
"The Midas Touch, if I remember correctly, was one of the Scared Powers exhibited by Wolfe Kalinnan, the third Emperor of this dynasty. The country prospered because anything under his touch could turn into gold on will. I don't know if he ever turned beer into juice, but the fact that Illumi can alter the property of objects around him is a sure sign that he has this Power."  
  
"Berenger-san, what other kinds of Powers are there?" Gon asked.  
  
The Palace Guardian chewed his lip. He was never any good at history, but he was mildly fascinated by the strength of the many emperors in Arcadian history.  
  
"Well, the first Kalinnan emperor could wield this Hellfire which could reduce anything into ashes within seconds. One of the Emperors in the Cardinal Dynasty was able to create ice so strong and cold that if you threw a block of it into an active volcanic mountain, the lava would freeze and can never spew forth again…what was that called?"  
  
He scratched his head and only saw a blank in his mind. Misha sighed and answered for him.  
  
"Even I know Berenger. It's called Eternal Entombment. Actually, there are blocks of people who have been preserved in this amazing ice down in one of the storerooms somewhere. After all these hundreds of years, it still hasn't even shed a single shard of ice."  
  
"Why don't you just name a few more? I'm getting hungry." Berenger said plaintively. The General nodded.  
  
"Another Cardinal Emperor displayed strange powers too. He loved a concubine so much that his Empress had her killed. Years later, an eunuch showed up with her exact face, and….er…they fell in love, and because the Emperor didn't bed any other women from that day on, his advisors urged him to think of some way to produce an heir. So he took a drop of his own blood and the blood of the eunuch and was able to create a perfectly normal baby from his nen. That is known as Creation. Bloody useless in my opinion."  
  
Leorio in the meantime, had dutifully covered Gon's ears.  
  
"And then, in the Wardien dynasty, there was an Emperor who could form a forcefield so strong that nothing could penetrate it. It was simply called the Invulnerable Resistance. His son after him also had strong powers and could soar into the sky as effortlessly as the birds. That was called the Chariot of the Sky. Rudy has the Voice, which compels all who listens, and Illumi probably has something similar too. She also has the Vision, which allows her to see all the possibilities of the future in one big infinite tree. Now that is a useful power." Misha sighed and looked wearily at Berenger.  
  
"We're just mere mortals compared to people like them it's just depressing. If you want to know more, I'm sure there are a few more, talk to Echlan. He should know. For now, I want lunch, and anyone who stands in my path will taste pain."  
  
Misha stalked away with Berenger muttering his sentiments as well. He had the courtesy to invite everyone else to lunch, but whilst the Emperor made it safely back to the Forbidden Palace, the rebels were beginning to stir. 


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
  
Liam had to move his headquarters again after the failed interrogation attempt two days ago. He had never expected that people could sneak past the well guarded sewers, and he certainly couldn't have reasonably anticipated that the rescue squad would contain an eunuch as well - Echlan's own protégé of all people too.  
  
He gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. Striker had backed out at the last moment, meaning that he would have to reorganize his plans. He had designed the fall of the Emperor on the same day that she gave her Pledge to the nation, one sniper carefully concealed on one the many roofs of Forbidden Palace, and it just took a single bullet whilst Rodimostev III was off guard and the Kalinnan dynasty would finally collapse. Then, he had explosives planted around the city and they would detonate in one glorious and symbolic burning of everything corrupt about the old dynasty. It would also be the perfect revenge for Kim.  
  
He wondered what made the sniper change his mind. When they approached him, he had been overly enthusiastic to participate. He even offered to demonstrate his skills and he shot the eye of a rooster weathervane from a quarter of a mile away with his reinforced weapon whilst a gale practically blew around his ears. Just like his legendary dad.  
  
Altesia barged into the cramped warehouse room near the market. She dressed like a bounty hunter in dirty, well worn leathers of brown and black with her greasy black hair tied back tightly with another strap of leather. Strapped on her back was a mean, vicious looking machine gun with her ammo slung in the front and tattooed on her forehead was the symbol of the Nihilists. She smiled at him revealing pointed teeth.  
  
Liam fought the urge to shiver and tried to look calm and confident in front of the maniac.  
  
Altesia was a Nihilist through and through. All her life she tracked down nen users to reveal secrets in an effort to create the perfect device which could cancel it out - similar to the Void. They had done extensive research onto the long line of Arcadian Emperors and even kidnapped some of royal birth to see what sort of genetic makeup differed from the general population, and what gave them the special natural nen user that occurred once every century or two.  
  
No one truly knows who started the organization and what its purpose was. Why target the Emperors? And the obsession to obliterate every last natural nen user in the world gave them the title of Nihilists. Enigmatic and mysterious, always operating in the darkness where no one dared to look. And Liam had to ally himself with these despicable terrorists because he needed their special backing when they stormed the Forbidden Palace. That was originally plan B, but now that Striker had withdrawn from the operation, he had to resort to it.  
  
"What brings you here Altersia?"  
  
"I heard the kid folded. We've got to take him out."  
  
Liam sighed. Working with brutes and psychopaths was such a difficult job. "That won't be necessary. He wasn't privy to any of our plans apart from the one two days from now. Since he's no longer co-operating with us, he won't know what we will be doing tomorrow. Just leave him alone."  
  
She took out a wicked looking dagger and began to trim her dirty fingernails. "Very well Liam, I'll leave him alone. But what happened to Janis?"  
  
"He was careless and overconfident plus we were ambushed with nowhere to run. His throat was slashed."  
  
"Why didn't they attack you?" she accused, making it sound like the slaughter of a house full of pigs.  
  
"I don't know? I was electrocuted with a few million volts of electricity and consequently got knocked out. I saw Koran there, along with another eunuch by his side who I don't particularly recognize. He killed Janis and the hostages were quickly kidnapped in the confusion."  
  
Altesia sneered at him. "I told you that it was a pointless mission. Did you manage to gather any information at all from the kids then?"  
  
"No, they refused to talk." Liam had to look away. Any more, and he would seriously grab his rifle and blast her head off, just to make the world just that much cleaner.  
  
"Great." She threw her hands hopelessly into the air. "We lost Janis, and you got nothing to show for that mission. I think you're loosing your mind Liam. You're so obsessed about that woman that you'd risk your own rebellion just to find out who she really is. It's a trap I tell you, a dirty trap and you're falling right in. You know it, but you're still falling for it and you're going to pull everyone down with you if you keep it up too."  
  
Liam ignored the brimming contempt in her voice and wondered who exactly had lost their mind. He waved his hand in dismissal, indicating his wish to drop the subject.  
  
"You've got the plans for the city?"  
  
Altesia snorted. It was an ugly noise. "Yeah, right here." She took out some crumpled sheets from her briefcase and laid out the floor plan on the shaky table. Liam bought the light down lower and grunted as it almost hit his head.  
  
"There are four main entrances to the city." Her dagger pointed to the four walls. "The Northern Entrance, Eastern, Southern and Western Entrances are all frequented by patrol guards and maids who go on duties. They all need Imperial Passes to enter, and possibly identification as well. According to reports, some of the guards there have photographic memories and can recognize anyone that leaves and enters." She waved at some other structures attached to the outer walls. "These are the outer palaces, usually residential areas for the visiting royalty, now occupied by the Generals who are in town. Here is Kastro Court, and the Mad General is living near the northern side, but reports come in saying that on most nights he passes out at a number of pubs and nightclubs."  
  
"I know all about it." Liam gruffly responded. He didn't like to make references to his past affiliations with the Imperial Court. "Get to the point, have the explosives been carefully planted yet?"  
  
Altesia's grin displayed her pointed teeth again, and Liam fought hard not to shiver. Instead, he distracted himself by adjusting his coloured glasses. "Why yes, it's all in place. And we've even got flame-throwers ready to make sure the fire really spreads."  
  
"It would have been more symbolic if Rodimostev was shot whilst making her speech." Liam sighed dismally. "But this will do just as well. How many people do we have on standby?"  
  
"Your rebels are currently being fitted with weapons and ammunition. There are around five thousand of them. We have around eight hundred people, but there will be more."  
  
"More?" Liam felt his anger rising, clearly expecting more support. "We strike in exactly nine hours! How do you think you're going to smuggle more people into the city? The sewers have been swept clean by the Imperial guards, there's literally no other way in other than by parachuting!"  
  
"Are you always this edgy?" she said, sneering. "Of course there won't be any more people coming in. We've got a new device that we want to try out.."  
  
"Try out? You mean you can't guarantee that it will work?"  
  
Altesia ignored the interruption. "It's mind manipulation. We've tested it on individual subjects, but we don't know what will happen when we unleash it on whole crowds."  
  
That calmed the leader of the rebels down somewhat. "Not bad.imperial troops fighting imperial troops.."  
  
"Uh, no." Altesia said firmly. "the device is most effective on the feeble minded. Professional fighters are too well trained, so that might now work against them. We were thinking more along the lines of civilians - "  
  
"NO!" Liam thumped the table so hard with his fists that the rotting structure crashed to the ground. Altesia calmly regarded him.  
  
"It's the perfect weapon Liam. Think about it - do you really think that the Imperial Guards can bring themselves to shoot their own people? That would be devastating for their morale! Not to mention their image as well."  
  
"And what about our image? We're supposed to be replacing the old decaying corruption with something better! Not stoop to the same level as they do."  
  
"Well Liam, let me remind you that our bargain was 'anything it takes' to overthrow Kalinnan. Now, if you're not willing to go to the extremes, then say goodbye to your dreams of revolution."  
  
"Ok, lets just say for now that I agree to using this device. What happens if it fails, doesn't work, or is counteracted? Do you have backup?"  
  
"I can't guarantee that it won't fail, but I highly doubt it can be counteracted. It's not like mind control is the latest development in science. If things don't work out the way we want it to, then our troops will hold the civilians hostage. With your people, we could literally threaten the entire Capital. And they won't dare to launch those hideous Sky Cruisers either, unless they want to blow their own people up, which is highly unlikely."  
  
Liam shook his head in despair. "Let me rectify a few things that you have said. You're right about mind control, not many people are even familiar about the concept at all, but when the Emperor speaks, everyone follows. I'm sure you're heard of that. It is her voice which I fear will be able to overcome any influence that your device seeks to create."  
  
"All the better. If she wants to use her voice on the civilians, it means that she'll have to step outside the Forbidden Palace. It'll be like stealing candy from a baby then."  
  
Liam fought hard to sigh dramatically. "This is Arcadia Central, with the Forbidden City right at its center. It is the Emperor's power base because there is nen flowing all around us and the Emperor can take it up and use it at will. If you will let me continue now. As for those Sky Cruisers, I think that it is very likely that Rodimostev will use them - we all know how ruthless she can be when she's determined to have her way, like all the other butchers. Do you remember the rightful heir to this throne she's currently sitting on? Talien Kalinnan was going to be Emperor after Rodimostev II died, and he was one of my best friends. He would have been a competent Emperor, someone this Empire needs, not some idealistic, fanatical child! She stole his rightful throne and then signed his death warrant." Liam choked back tears. "Gods. To think that Kim died for something like this! One hundred and twenty six people Altesia. The demon child ordered the death of the entire Talien household, servants and all, even the dogs! She will spare no one, and certainly not a few thousand citizens here in Arcadia Central if she wants to have her way. And those children she ordered to march through the minefields! What kind of monster orders children who can barely walk at gunpoint to march across those bloody booby trapped fields! It is an abomination! Absolute abomination!" Liam shook uncontrollably as images surfaced in his mind of children, their faces miserable and dirty, afraid, not knowing why they were punished. Some young girls cried as overseers armed with cattle prods and whips mercilessly urged them on whilst random explosions shook the earth about them. He took deep breaths and steadily looked at the Nihilist. "And do you seriously think that the civilians will behave like sitting ducks? Most likely they'll grab whatever they can lay their hands on and fight back."  
  
Altesia glared at Liam with harsh fury and contempt for his weaknesses. "The device will not fail." She spat out and left the room, banging the door shut behind her.  
  
Liam flexed his stiff fingers which had curled up so tightly into a fist before that the nails had dug into his palms and were bleeding freely. He missed all his friends and relatives, all dead or have fled in exile. For a brief moment, Liam considered pressing the barrel of a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. Perhaps one of the Imperial Guards could do that for him tonight when they storm the Forbidden Palace.  
  
=============  
  
Hisoka awoke to the cool dabbing of something along the side of his face. On his forehead was a wet compress, and the largest black cat he ever did see was licking his face!? His narrow eyes widened in surprise, for seriously, the cat was HUGE. He heard a familiar soft laughter and turned to see Illumi, dressed in what Hisoka believed was a tailor made maid's outfit. The soft fabric and pastel colours gave him a decidedly voluptuous look and Hisoka hoped that the assassin couldn't see his shiver of excitement.  
  
"What time is it?" he managed to croak.  
  
"You've managed to sleep all day. It's ten o'clock already and you haven't had anything to eat since this morning." Illumi glided over and sat next to Hisoka on the bed to take away the wet towel off the clown's forehead. Hisoka silently commented to himself how inviting Illumi smelt. Illumi shifted Cat to one side.  
  
"Where'd you get that?" Hisoka gestured to Cat, now demanding attention by rolling onto his back.  
  
"Oh, it's stray, and I'm going to keep him. His name is Cat." Illumi smiled, obliging to give Cat his tummy rub. Hisoka looked back and forth between them, and quickly hid a smile. The two were so alike!  
  
He sided up closely to Illumi. "Illu." He purred.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Strong arms encircled around the assassin's slender hips. "Are you going to play nurse? They beat me black and blue. Pat me down to see if they've broken any bones." He smirked planted kisses on the bare neck. Illumi squirmed and broke free from Hisoka.  
  
"Have you no shame." He blushed furiously and quickly went to retrieve something from the table. Hisoka watched him scuttle about with longing eyes. "Here, I've been keeping this warm for you." Illumi presented a large platter before him. "The soup's really nice. I'll have to see if I can beg the recipe from the chefs." He handed a hot bowl brimming with soup to Hisoka, but the magician shook his head. Instead, he opened his mouth, gesturing.  
  
"I don't have the strength Illu. You'll have to feed me."  
  
Illumi scowled a bit but bought a spoonful to Hisoka's lips. The clown slurped up the food and smiled widely.  
  
"Gosh, you're right Illu. We'll raid the kitchens, find a chef and intimidate the recipe out of him!"  
  
"Allu's up running and jumping again." Illumi quietly commented, feeding in another spoon. He hoped Hisoka would get the point.  
  
"Oh really?" slurp. "Then he'll be able to look after himself now." Slurp. "Another assassin ready to frighten the crap out of the world." Slurp. "It means that you don't have to constantly look after him anymore." Hisoka almost choked. He starred at Illumi's expectant face. "You can leave home then." The magician whispered, almost dazed by the idea. Slowly, his hand reached up to cup Illumi's cheek and the latter leaned to his touch, his eyes half closed.  
  
Hisoka swallowed the strange lump of nervousness in his throat. "Illu, if I said that - "  
  
The door barged open and revealed Koran smiling widely indicating that he had many things to talk about with Hisoka. Except his smile quickly dropped when he realized that he had interrupted a tender moment, and Hisoka's glare was not doing much to reassure his health and safety. Stuttering some excuse, any excuse, he ducked his head, closed the doors and hurriedly retreated, mumbling to himself as if nothing happened.  
  
The moment lost, Hisoka sighed and watched Illumi reveal to him the next platter of food.  
  
"Fried rice?" he groaned like a spoilt child. "I was expecting something more exotic!" He immediately withdrew any ill criticisms however, after tasting his first mouthful. Every now and again, he traded small jokes and dirty remarks to Illumi who either giggled or lightheartedly scoffed in response. Cat knew a pair of lovers when he saw it and he just put his head down, knowing that there wouldn't get any more tummy rubs tonight.  
  
The light wooden doors flung open again and Kikyou barged in.  
  
"Illumi! I've been looking for you all day - " Kikyou was greeted to the scene of Hisoka in the middle of being spoon fed fried rice by her son. No, Kikyou had too much control to die from shock, but she certainly did loose her grip on her hysteria. "What are you doing!" she shrieked, rushing forward to loom intimidatingly over Illumi.  
  
Illumi deliberately filled another spoon and pushed it into Hisoka's eager and awaiting mouth. "Spoon feeding Hisoka, mother."  
  
The was a general pause.  
  
"Do you plan to stop? Kikyou asked, dangerously.  
  
"Yes" he said simply, but there was naked steel hidden under the gentle tones of his voice. "when I have finished the plate."  
  
"Why are you doing this Illumi? Why do you denigrate yourself like this? You're a Zoldick!" Kikyou's fury had consumed everything, even her voice, so all that came out was but an intense and trembling whisper. Illumi abruptly stopped what he was doing and glared at her.  
  
"No mother, you and everyone never treated me like a Zoldick. Now kindly leave the room."  
  
"Don't you dare talk to me like that Illumi. I'm your mother! Now get off his bed and get changed out of those ridiculous clothes too. You're going home, right now, and the first thing we're going to do is cut your hair and refit your wardrobe." Her hand shot forward as if to grab him and drag him away, but it stopped midway and Kikyou hesitated.  
  
There was something different about Illumi, perhaps it was the way his eyes now shimmered with life, no longer the dull and lifeless. Or perhaps she saw in them a new strength of character, like a new person emerging from a shell. Something was so fundamentally different that it unsettled her, and she feared whatever it was that was inside her son, stirring, finally awake. He was no longer the puppet whose strings could be pulled at will and controlled. Something had finally taken over.  
  
"Who are you? What have you done with my son." She whispered.  
  
Hisoka, quietly watching the standoff, noted the disappointment, miserably concealed in Illumi.  
  
"I am your son mother. You just.don't like me." Illumi said, quietly with eyes downcast.  
  
There it was, simple, bitter truth and Kikyou could just stare at him in silence. Her jaw finally started working again, and she tried to stutter some things.  
  
"Of course not Illumi..mama loves you all."  
  
But Cat hissed at her and she knew she it was a lost cause with Illumi idly pushing the rice around on the plate with a sullen expression. She gathered whatever dignity she had left and turned to leave, salty tears stinging her eyes.  
  
One big fat tear trickled Illumi's pale cheeks after Kikyou closed the door behind her. Hisoka quickly wiped it away and began to murmur comforting words. Cat knew that he wasn't doing any good here, so he left the couple alone and soundlessly jumped out of the window with padded feet and wandered about the large Forbidden Palace.  
  
==========  
  
Zeno sat down quietly on the shallow stone steps outside the huge and oppressively silent library on a light Summer's night in Arcadia. Echlan's steps approached him and he shuffled over a bit more.  
  
"Found the book at last. Here, hold this." The Master Eunuch handed Zeno the lantern whilst he made himself comfortable on the steps outside, shuffling his dark blue robes as he made to sit. Under his arm was a large, dusty book, its bindings fraying and its yellow pages carefully preserved. Echlan's perfectly manicured and polished fingernails glinted in the dim light, and he gave Zeno a painted crimson smile. "There's still time Zeno, your grandson is not broken."  
  
But the old assassin slowly shook his head. "No Echlan. I've been a bad grandfather, and it's too late. The least I can do is help Illumi understand his powers at least."  
  
Echlan looked at him in slight reproach. "You should have contacted me Zeno. I could have helped."  
  
"There was nothing you can do. He knew that he outclassed us all and wouldn't have consented to have that power taken away from him."  
  
"Not to take away that power. You can never do that, but at least I could have helped you control it. You should have brought him to Arcadia."  
  
"And let the Emperor kill him?!"  
  
Echlan frowned. "Yes, Rodimostev wouldn't have liked to know that someone of your grandson's caliber existed." He gave a small sigh and opened the book, flicking to his desired page. "Perhaps it was destined then."  
  
A violent flash of lightening and the sound of a clap of thunder at close proximity startled the reminiscing pair and they turned, wide-eyed to see what was going on.  
  
Alluka muttered a few harmless curses and dusted himself respectably. He too looked wide-eyed at his surroundings and saw his grandpa with another old eunuch.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Echlan composed himself quickly and gestured for the child to sit beside his grandfather.  
  
The young albino child shrugged, taking his seat dutifully. "Nothing much, just practicing some teleportation."  
  
Zeno looked at the youngster sharply. "Who taught you that?"  
  
"I taught myself when I was looking at quantum physics and dimensional mathematics."  
  
Echlan bit his lip prettily. "That doesn't sound like something a child should be studying."  
  
Alluka's only response was to shrug again in nonchalance. "I thought that if I had to be crippled for life, at least I'm going to devise a way to travel around so that I don't have to bother Millu or big bro all the time. So I researched on dimensions in particular and hyper efficient energy usage and discovered that the shortest distance between two points was not a straight line after all, only that it takes a rather compressed amount of energy to make the extra speed through the time and space continuum."  
  
"Ouch, I'm starting to get a headache. Hold me Zeno."  
  
The older assassin laughed again and tousled Alluka's hair, slightly dismayed when the young boy tensed beneath his touch.  
  
"You seem much more.clearheaded now Allu."  
  
"Of course grandpa. Much of the madness came from the frustration of being able to feel my limbs, but not able to use them. And then there were nightmares of course.but I suddenly feel so much more confident of myself and my powers now that I can walk again. I can realistically think about revenge now, and lots of people will be hurt."  
  
"You also know what this means don't you?" Zeno calmly asked.  
  
"Yes." Alluka replied, bitterly. "It means that big bro is going to leave home."  
  
"Sorry Allu."  
  
"No you're not. You never were, and you never will be. You never looked at big bro all these years and everyone made his life miserable. Now he's going to leave home because it'll make him happy and so god help me, I'll hurt anyone who tries to get in his way."  
  
"Hmmm.his attitude's certainly taken a sharp turn. Why don't you run along now and find your brother." Echlan suggested, deciding to take note not to leave his back unguarded against the youngster for that was a blatant and open threat to all Zoldick family members.  
  
Zeno watched in fascination as Alluka's face went slack, trance-like, eyes unfocused and blank. A few seconds later, they snapped back with life and he pulled a face of slight disgust.  
  
"I'd rather not disturb ani right now." He shivered so more and shook his head vigorously as if to get some image out of his mind.  
  
"Why not?" Zeno asked, rather surprised.  
  
"He's.doing adult stuff." Alluka replied gruffly, looking away in embarrassment. The general silence around them prompted Alluka to reluctantly continue. "You know," he whined "stuff big people do behind closed doors."  
  
"You mean sex?" Echlan frankly said.  
  
Alluka's face went blank again and he pulled another face. "Almost, almost." He shivered again, face now crimson. After all, what he did just then basically amounted to peeping and spying on his brother. "They're still smooching, sorta.with a lot of tongue.and clothes were flying the last time I checked."  
  
"When did you check?" Zeno regarded his grandson with mounting seriousness and wonder. But the look on Alluka said that he didn't trust his grandpa and that he had accidentally given away his talents and abilities by mistake. But he did speak, if only because he was eager for someone to be proud of him after so many years of cold neglect and loneliness.  
  
"They messed with my brain four years ago. I started developing psionic abilities - "  
  
"Mind extensions?" Echlan looked fascinated. The young albino nodded, a little unsure.  
  
"To that extent, yes, that is probably a good description. My mind.just sort of leaps out whenever I want it to, and it does what I want it to do. Like for example, I'm currently sending out waves of mental energy, and in my mind, it's like I've got this radar screen constantly on and I've got the entire Forbidden Palace mapped out in my mind."  
  
"Amazing." Zeno muttered. "Can you read minds then? Control people?"  
  
"Sure, that's actually a piece of cake. I pride myself in being able to add my psionic energies to my nen to create an even more destructive force. It'll help my assassination abilities for sure, grandpa." He said happily hoping for some praise. Zeno managed a small smile. "What's the matter grandpa? You don't seem pleased."  
  
"Of course he's pleased." Echlan interjected, glaring fiercely at Zeno through heavily mascaraed eyes. "He's just fathoming the possibilities and development that you can achieve with this power. But he's in fact really worried about why despicable terrorists such as the Nihilists would give you this gift of esp. But if you find no problems within yourself, then all must be in order. Right, Zeno?"  
  
The old man blinked a few times and dumbly nodded. In fact, he was afraid of another prodigy grandson. A talented one like Killua was different because he was predictable, but a wildcard like Alluka, or what Illumi had been, only caused doubts and fears to stir within Zeno.  
  
"This book, Allu" Echlan hurriedly continued. "contains a record of all remarkable Arcadian Emperors. Dynasties may come and go, but this Forbidden Palace remains so no one is stupid enough to try and destroy these records." The eunuch daintily held up the book for Alluka to examine, but a fragile sheet of yellow people fell out. Alluka picked it up and frowned deeply after he glanced over it.  
  
"This looks nothing like a record of past Emperors. It looks more like the ravings of a madman."  
  
To prevent explosions, seek the white devil. Three hours past midnight, we all go to hell. Parents and brothers, will turn against each other. Fight the madness with the devil..When seven suns are suspended in the sky The Eighth will burn the brightest, but that which burns twice as bright lasts half as long Defend! Defend! Summon the Guardian and the Dark Executioner! Oh, the Despair! The Dark Executioner shall deal despair and they will fall. Protect the One and let no ill befall her. But it's too late! Killers are forever killers. And the world is plunged into darkness for eternity.  
  
"I believe I wrote that." A mysteriously smooth and deep voice spoke and the three turned around to see who it could be. 


	21. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
  
Cat calmly sat behind the three people, his sleek black tail idly swishing from side to side as he allowed them to register their shock. Alluka numbly reached over to tickle his chin.  
  
"Cat?"  
  
"Well, that's what Illumi calls me these days. But no son, my name is not Cat."  
  
Echlan furiously studied the bit of paper and glanced at the back. He gaped at the fading signature. "Renald Romanov Kalinnan? THE Kalinnan?"  
  
"Yes," Cat continued in the velvet smooth voice. "I am the Official Guardian, being the founder of this Dynasty. I've been looking after the Forbidden Palace for about six hundred years already, in different forms and manifestations of course."  
  
"Why a cat this time?" Zeno asked flatly, unimpressed.  
  
Renald shrugged a bit, if a cat could shrug, but its expressions were entirely human. "It's inconspicuous. Wherever there are rats, there are cats. I can go places and no one would spare me a second glance. It means I've been doing espionage and covert operations in order to gather vital information."  
  
"Back track, back track. Who made you Official Guardian?" Alluka asked, cautiously withdrawing his hand. Cat purred a bit in thought.  
  
"I did, I made myself the Guardian because I was the first Kalinnan, that's why. When I died, my dying wish was to protect the generations to come, so my nen was incorporated into the mainstream of the nen around us, taking shape and form whenever it was necessary and danger loomed over the Forbidden Palace. I swore on my deathbed that if the Kalinnans to come remained in the Palace, no harm can touch them, but only minutes before I died, I had a terrible vision. I saw the Palace under attack, and I was helpless to prevent it. So I wrote down what I saw, in my feverish state and conditioned my nen and will to live on until that day finally came."  
  
"Does that mean that when this vision has passed." Echlan left it hanging, a great mourning and sadness stirring in his heart, and pride for the long dead Emperor who lived on to protect his family no matter how corrupt and despicable they had become.  
  
"Yes, it means that my mission's finally over and I can rest in peace. There will be a new guardian to take my place of course, and I take it that Berenger is still around?"  
  
"Yes sire, loyal to the family even after all these years and what they have done."  
  
Cat sighed, a little sadly. "Yes, that's good. He was my best friend, and his sons thereafter became my children's protector." He shook his small black furry head vigorously. "No, we must talk business. I remember seeing enormous explosions rocking the very foundations of this Palace. There were no weapons around in my time capable of doing something like this. Could you guess what it could be?"  
  
Zeno shivered slightly. "Whenever someone talks about explosions, I think of Millu trying to talk to me about his theories and new inventions."  
  
"You mean bombs?" Alluka sat up alert and glanced around him, his sharp eyes darting. His mind immediately leaped out to scour every square inch of the Forbidden Palace grounds, passing through the grand halls, the hidden passages, the empty silent courtyards, and he struck jackpot. Scattered all around the Palace grounds were large explosives, capable of blasting apart the thick and impregnable walls. Without second thought, he defused them and with his mind, ripped them apart so that they shattered into a million fragments.  
  
Zeno looked worriedly into his grandson's once again, blank and slack face, and almost jumped back in fright when Alluka scowled in menace.  
  
"Bombs and explosives were planted everywhere. I've deactivated them now, well, destroyed them to be more precise, so whoever put them there is going to have a nasty surprise."  
  
"Did you just say bombs EVERYWHERE?" Echlan's already high pitched voice raised another few tones in horror.  
  
"Yes, enough to shatter the Palace Walls and possibly set the nearest courtyards and rooms alight with blazing fire."  
  
"I must take this information and alert the Generals and place the Emperor under maximum security." Echlan stood up, his face held fierce determination and strength.  
  
Alluka quickly reread the mad prophecy over and over again, then stared flatly at Renald. The Cat was looking at him funny.  
  
"You must be the white devil.yes.I think I can finally remember your face. You must excuse me, but back in my time, I don't think I ever came across one so young with hair so white already. Your grandpa I can understand, but no.I truly thought that you were another creature from another world when I saw you in my visions six hundred years ago."  
  
"I'm an albino! Get it! There may not be plenty of people like us, but we're BORN with this hair!" Alluka shrieked, offended. Cat laughed easily and hopped into Echlan's arms. They all ran at a breakneck pace towards Kastro Court, but the conversation continued.  
  
"This 'Dark Executioner' plays an important part." Alluka began, running those eerie last phrases in his head. "Do you remember what he looked like?"  
  
"Am I seriously expected to remember with crystal clear clarity something that I saw six hundred years ago whilst I was dying with a bloody high fever too!? I may have been a powerful natural nen user in my time you know, but I'm not a freaking god, though I wish I was sometimes. But there is something that has haunted me all these years, and that is who this Dark Executioner? He was but a black and forbidding shape in my last visions, ominous, threatening, a being of great and immense power. Perhaps it was the true face of god, or something damn close to it, because he wouldn't let me look into his face." Cat made a dreamy expression, one of worship and adulation.  
  
"Your theory however, contradicts everything that our Emperor believes in, for you profess to have seen into the future. Yet Rudy believes that the Future is what we make it to be, rather than what something greater has preordained for us." Echlan muttered. "It means that there is no one future, and that it is but an endless infinite tree of possibilities, each branch a consequence of our actions and what it leads to."  
  
"Ah." Cat purred, swishing his tail again. "But destiny works to bring us together. You must accept that coincidence does play a role in our lives, and I do believe there are bigger forces at play. How else do you explain, say, the sudden reappearance of an Arcadian Princess, Kikyou, who was thought to have been murdered nearly forty years ago?"  
  
"Chance." Echlan replied flatly.  
  
"And how about Illumi, who reminded General Kamus immediately of his other dead sister? AND the fact that he hired him at the same time the rebel Liam was in the Capital, hmm?"  
  
"Point taken, but that does not explain Rudy's abilities."  
  
Cat frowned slightly, and Alluka thought that it was the cutest thing he ever saw - a cat frowning. Fancy that.  
  
"The Vision is more about imputations of possibilities and calculations of people's actions. It is not so much a true vision as it is a mathematical machine. Think about it this way. Rudy's Vision could not have seen Alluka defuse those bombs, like I did six hundred years ago. I SAW this boy's face, six hundred years before he was born, before he even came into existence. Now that is truly staring down the tunnel of time. Rudy on the other hand, is focused more on calculating all the possibilities and consequences in her mind, then seeing the most appropriate course of action. It is rather short term, and does not allow for the introduction of new variants, which would otherwise involve an entirely new calculation of a whole new infinite tree of possibilities. Get it?"  
  
There was a general series of grunts and shaking of heads.  
  
"This is too slow. It's eleven o'clock already. Lets see.three hours past midnight would mean three o'clock. That gives us four hours to put up some defence before we all go to hell." Zeno grunted, only seeing abandoned courtyard after courtyard. Alluka shouted them to a halt and urged them to touch him.  
  
"You must all have had an urge to cut through time and space at one time or another right?" Alluka grinned viciously. Without waiting for a reply, they all disappeared in a flash of blinding blue lightening and clap of thunder.  
  
==========  
  
Kikyou cheerlessly wandered back over to Kastro Court to see Silva with Killua and his friend, Gon, trying on Arcadian clothes, giggling and laughing at each other as they tried to fix on the sashes and the right buttons to the right holes after Alluka ruined Killu's only shirt which fit. Milluki was ferociously attacking the keys of his laptop whilst Karuto sat near him on the table, quietly playing with the ugly doll. She looked at her children and then suddenly wondered what they thought of her. Illumi was wrong! She loved all of them, even if they were rebellious, slightly mad, or was as quiet as a mouse.  
  
"Kikyou, are you all right?" Silva approached her, then remembered that his wife could see with perfect clarity now without the aid of the visor now. She stared blankly at him for a moment, then briefly nodded and wiped something quickly from her cheek. "Have you been crying?" her concerned husband hovered around her and felt anger slowly burning when he saw his wife's eyes, red from the tears.  
  
After much coaxing, she finally blurted out what happened in the little confrontation an hour earlier with her eldest son. "He thinks I hate him!" she cried, the fabric on Silva's shoulder already wet form all her tears. Gon handed her a tissue box, and she gratefully accepted, blowing her nose thoroughly on the tissue.  
  
"Ni-chan is nice to me." Karuto spoke up for once. She padded silently over to the sofa where her parents sat and present them the doll that she had been carrying recently. It was a rag doll with ebony black hair, but the face was missing, leaving only a wide, smiling crimson mouth which resembled more of a gaping wound. The very inhumanity of the doll caused the toughest assassin to shiver at its horrific undertones, but the youngest Zoldick seemed unaffected. "See, ni-chan made this for me. He said he was going to give her another dress for my birthday."  
  
"Karuto-chan, please remove that disgusting and offending object from your mother's sight." Silva said harshly, but his daughter actually frowned, a small crease to her flawless features.  
  
"It's got very good craftsmanship. And the dress she's got on is very pretty already. See the stitching." It was perhaps the longest sentence that she had ever said to her parents, and she held up the intricate embroidery on the otherwise very plain brown dress which the doll wore. Kikyou gently plucked the doll, careful to avoid the head and looked at the work on the dress. It compelled her to look closer.  
  
"What is it Kikyou?" Silva leaned over, but he didn't know what to look for.  
  
"It's just the stitching..it's damn familiar.but Karuto is right. It's a very pretty dress indeed."  
  
"And I can access the Hunter Website now." Milluki announced proudly.  
  
"Oh? How so fat pig? Last I heard, you couldn't even run for two hundred meters." Killua mocked his elder brother. Milluki on the other hand, didn't raise to the bait, being far too mature for that kind of thing. He withdrew from his wallet a bloodstained hunter licence card.  
  
"See this! Aniki gave me this in return for looking after Alluka. Now I can gather the most reliable information in the world without even having to hack in and incur the Hunter Association's wrath!"  
  
"Where'd he get it?" Killua examined the card in Milluki's hand, but Milluki couldn't trust his brother to let him touch it. He grunted slightly.  
  
"Who cares Killu." Milluki shrugged, carefully placing the card back inside his bulging wallet. "Probably killed another Hunter and grabbed his card. That's how I explain the bloodstains. So you see mama, aniki looks after us all. He just probably said those nasty things because he was angry."  
  
Kikyou's fingers traced around the glittering stones on her bracelet and turned to Killua, presenting it to her son.  
  
"Killu, you did give this to mama last Christmas didn't you?"  
  
"Um.mother, I was with Gon trapped inside the Greed Island game during Christmas. I've never given you guys presents before."  
  
"What about the dozen Benz knives that you got for my birthday?" Silva asked. Again, Killua could only shake his head in response.  
  
"What gave you such ridiculous ideas? If I had any money, I'd blow it all on candy."  
  
"He sure would!" Gon broke in. "You should have seen our room when we were fighting at the Celestial Fighting Tower! Killua spent his entire reward on boxes and boxes of chocolate balls and wanted to take mine to buy some more. Ouch Killua! What'd you do that for?" Gon rubbed the sore back of his head where his friend had just hit him, his fist still shaking.  
  
"Kindly don't blurt out my most embarrassing behaviour, especially in front of my brothers and sisters Gon."  
  
"Oh, oops.sorry." Gon stuck his tongue out, but almost bit it off when he was startled by what he thought was lightening crashing into the middle of the Kastro living room.  
  
"Dear lords! Don't ever drag me through that again!" Echlan shrieked with complete lack of composure and dignity that the person with highest authority in the Forbidden Palace should have, waving his arms like a madman and venting out every bit of anger and frustration on the cowering child.  
  
Zeno grabbed both shoulders of the eunuch and shook him hard. "Echlan. Calm down and remember what we have to do."  
  
Echlan took in a few deep breaths regulating his heartbeat and finally felt his mind clear. He fumbled for his cellphone and quickly dialed a number.  
  
"Koran, code red, but don't alert the Emperor. Contact the Palace Guardian, tell him bombs have been defused around the Forbidden Palace and set every single guard available on emergency footing - armed to the teeth, those are my exact words. Don't ask any questions, the Forbidden Palace will become a battlefield. There will be more instructions later. Over." Echlan slammed the phone shut and immediately went to find General Kamus.  
  
Cat looked amused at the entire Zoldick family cozily gathered in a miscellaneous living room in the large Kastro Court. His tail swished like it had a mind of its own, twisting and writhing like a live snake. He padded over softly to Silva and sniffed curiously.  
  
"You don't seem old. Why do you have white hair?" his infuriatingly calm and smooth bass voice came out unnaturally loud from such a small mouth. Kikyou, sitting beside her husband was positively horrified, but Silva leaned more towards being offended rather than amazed at the large cat.  
  
Alluka gathered the animal in his arms and feigned an innocent and apologetic laugh.  
  
"Oh, I get it, he's got that albino condition that you have, hmm, son?" Cat easily twisted in the grip and with large feline green eyes stared deeply into Alluka's pale blue ones.  
  
"It's not a condition." Alluka whispered testily into Renard's ear, annoying the cat's sensitive ears. "Just born that way damnit! Keep your voice down and act like a cat!"  
  
"It matters not" Renard arrogantly held his pinkish nose high up in the air. "I have business to attend to now, and in the meantime, could you ponder on how to stop friends and family from tearing out each other's throats?"  
  
"Huh? What's the Cat talking about Allu? And how on earth does a cat talk?" Millu leaned forward.  
  
"I am not a mere cat." Renard said as a matter of factly. "I am a nen construct which has been sustained by my dying vow in the last six hundred years. I only manifest when my family is in danger, and of course, I can choose any shape or form I want."  
  
Gon snapped his fingers brightly. "Killua! That's it! He's a ghost! I knew I'd see one.but.I certainly didn't expect something so." Gon's enthusiasm died a bit as he thought about the correct word.  
  
"Ordinary?" Killua suggested.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose. I was expecting perhaps a headless body with the head floating around or something ethereal, silently haunting the Palace grounds. Cat just seems a little too.friendly in my opinion."  
  
"Lets just contain your curiosity for a second please." Alluka rubbed the sides of his temples furiously. "Exactly WHY would people start fighting each other? And I'm supposed to do something when there are SEVEN suns in the sky? You must have been raving mad when you wrote down your stupid prophecy."  
  
"As a matter of fact, I was." Cat cut in indignantly.  
  
Alluka did his best not to stare in absolute disbelief and hurriedly continued. "Now if you don't explain it to me clearly, exactly what I have to do, I am just going to walk away, right this instant so that I won't have to shoulder any responsibilities. That, or I'll rip out those visions from your mind so I can share the delusions you had in your dying moments."  
  
Cat hissed so coldly that everyone in the room froze and dared not move. "In case you are wondering child, I have the power to prevent you from leaving this Palace, even if I have to summon four generations of the Kalinnan emperors to do it. Now why don't you run through those words a few more times in your head and perhaps discuss it with your family so you can get some inspiration. I have to listen in on what the Generals plan so I won't be swept away by the confusion when it all begins. The eunuch will probably brief you later." Renard stalked away, easily picking up Echlan's perfume trail which led to where Kamus was frantically coming up with the last line of defence before hell decided to pay them an unkindly visit.  
  
Silva tousled Alluka's hair and regarded him intently. "What prophecy are we talking about?"  
  
So Alluka told his entire family everything that happened, from the moment he found the old slip of paper and Cat appearing, speaking in a naturally human voice, claiming to represent the will of the first Kalinnan Emperor - Renard Romanov.  
  
~ To prevent explosions, seek the white devil ~  
  
"You see, because this was supposed to have been written six hundred years ago, Cat didn't know about the existence of bombs, so he just put down explosions. I guess he didn't have much time to be descriptive, because he was dying, but when Grandpa thought about explosions, he immediately connected it to Millu's numerous inventions."  
  
"And so were there bombs?" Gon shivered slightly.  
  
"Yes. All around the city walls. I defused them and tore them apart, don't ask how, I'll explain when this is all over. But it says that at three o'clock, possibly tonight, something bad is going to happen."  
  
~ Three hours past midnight, we all go to hell ~  
  
"Hell connects to bloody infernos, lakes of lava, a demon king.damn, it's not making sense." Killua rubbed his chin in thought, his mind racing through every channel of possibility.  
  
"Sounds like a full scale invasion." Silva said at last, his voice calm and calculating. "If explosions were going to occur, then there would be fire. Not to mention what other weapons the Nihilists and the Rebels have smuggled into the city." His frown darkened tremendously. "It means that this place will be bathing in flames, that's what he means by hell."  
  
Everyone tried to picture the future in their minds. They saw crimson and gold fire, licking at the sturdy wooden beams of the thousands of little gazeboes, rooms and buildings which made up the Forbidden Palace. They heard the thundering blasts from rolling tanks, missiles whirring like falling angels in the sky and black smoke, a dank and blinding cloud billowing from the entire Forbidden Palace as the entire place went up in flames and destruction.  
  
~ Parents and brothers will turn against each other. Fight the madness with the devil.When seven suns are suspended in the sky. ~  
  
"I can't get my mind around this. Apparently, I have been called the devil" Alluka grimaced slightly "but I have no clue as to why we will start attacking each other, or how seven suns will appear in the middle of the night." He rubbed his eyes hard and sniffed piteously. "This whole thing makes my head hurt and to make matters worse, the most important character - this Dark Executioner - I don't even know where to begin to look for this person."  
  
They were all interrupted when General Kamus and Misha barged into the room. Kamus looked tired and weary, his brows drenched in sweat at the sudden realization of how dangerous the situation had become. Misha's scowl was more than frightening, and his aura, a menacing presence, was only barely restrained.  
  
"I'm going out there to kill the whole lot of treacherous leaches right now!" he growled, glaring so intensely at Kamus that had there been real power behind it, Kamus would now be a pile of ashes. Instead, Killua's uncle merely grunted.  
  
"Our informants have been sprung it seems, so the only reliable information we have now is that they will strike, at three o'clock. Some of the Generals are on their way back, but it would help us immensely if the Zoldick family would join in this fight and lend us a helping hand."  
  
"The people who hurt me four years ago are with them. I'm going to hurt them, no matter who stands in my way." Alluka declared. Renard nodded appreciatively.  
  
The rest of the Zoldick family turned to Silva, who, after short deliberations, consented. "I guess we are involved, since it mentions 'killers' in the prophecy. I won't charge this time, and if you are satisfied with our performance, we'll give you a twenty percent discount the next time you require our services."  
  
Kamus grinned and shook Silva's hand heartily. Hell was coming, and it seemed that the darkness was irresistible, unless everyone else had a say of course. 


	22. Chapter 20

Chapter 20  
  
My goodness, I thought that this story was going to end here.maybe a chapter or two left, since the final battle is approaching. Many thanks to the people who have given their comments and reviews on my story so far. It has been really encouraging and heartening to have fellow hunter fans follow the story. Lets keep going.  
  
Leorio sighed as he put wearily replaced the many books strewn around the floor in the operating room. Kurapika and Karen had been arguing non stop ever since afternoon tea, and there were no signs of either side relenting. Even Kurapika's once calm unwavering tones became heated and passionate and he made extensive use of his hands making wild gestures. Likewise, General Kamus' daughter was glaring knives and daggers and her voice laced with brutal venom.  
  
Leorio slammed the last book back in his proper place and spun around to greet the pair who were acting like feuding families. It didn't help that Kurapika's chains were rattling like being shaken by the ghosts of the damned, or that every minute the argument carried on, Karen looked more and more like a demoness on the prowl.  
  
"Would you two quit it already! It's midnight, and you two are still bickering!?" Leorio screamed at the top of his voice. Suddenly, he felt that maybe he shouldn't have shouted at them because now their anger was aimed at him.  
  
"Stay out of it!" both snapped simultaneously, then glared at each other and returned to their little verbal barrage.  
  
Karen's cell phone began ringing and she hurriedly flipped it open when she recognized her father's number displayed on the screen.  
  
"Karen, return to Kastro Court with your cousin's friends.what Misha? Not here? Hold on Karen." there was a slight pause whilst heated words were exchanged in the background between several people. "Come to General Headquarters, behind the Throne Room...should I tell them now? No? All right, do as you're told Karen, and find Killua's friends as well. General Headquarters immediately."  
  
"Yes father." She fitted the phone back into her forearm band and told Kurapika and Leorio to follow her.  
  
"Say Karen-san, where are we going?" the other doctor inquired.  
  
"Father sounded rather serious." She responded with clinical calmness. "He instructed me to take you to General Headquarters, apparently to explain something to us."  
  
Leorio looked at Kurapika, and both knew that when she spoke in that kind of voice, you could get no answer out of her.  
  
==========  
  
Hisoka glumly looked about him in a glaze. He didn't know what he was doing, wandering in some desolate and abandoned courtyard. It only bought back old memories of what a bustling and boisterous place the Forbidden Palace used to be, brimming with hidden plots and intrigues, backroom dealings and bribes passed around. Armies of maids and eunuchs serving different masters used to scuttle across these large yards, carrying secret messages and spreading vital rumors. Now, it was nothing but a silent, empty husk with howling winds sweeping through the abandoned halls and gardens. Spotting an innocent stone bench, Hisoka took a seat and gave a deep sigh. One moment, he was in the heat of passion with Illumi, clothes readily falling to the floor. Next, he caught a glimmer of what he interpreted to be vulnerable desperation in those bright and luminous eyes. A small voice told him that it just wasn't right to take advantage of Illumi after those harsh words the assassin had exchanged with his mother, and so, instead of proceeding to more adult matters, he got up, poured a hot cup of tea and soothed the distraught and vulnerable assassin into a restful slumber.  
  
So now, he was out in the howling winds sitting by himself on a cold stone bench, brooding about his past. And naturally, he memories drifted farther back still to how he ever entered the Forbidden Palace in the first place.  
  
His childhood suddenly became such a distant past, and his adult life raced past him in a blur of drifting and madness. His adult life began when he was twelve, after he fled the Forbidden Palace for killing the Empress' brother. Contrary to what many people who know Hisoka would think, he had a relatively decent childhood, accepted into the Forbidden Palace at the tender age of five after he lost his parents to some severe floods in the country side where he lived. Princess Kim did well looking after her two eunuchs in waiting, and Echlan was there to coach them in the secrets of nen. And all was well, until he turned twelve when the Empress' brother took an unhealthy interested in the (still) unmarried princess and so Hisoka snooped into that man's palace in the middle of the night and killed him for his disrespect. Princess Kim told him to run to where no one could track him, and to change himself into someone so unrecognizable and formidable that people would tremble in fear as he passed. She told him to never return to the stinking cesspit of corruption and decadence that was the reign of Rodimostev II, or as long as the Empress lived. So biting back bitter tears, he ran from the Palace without even saying goodbye to his only friend, Koran.  
  
Thus Hisoka, the world's greatest magician, who killed people for the sheer thrilling pleasure, was born to replace the dutiful eunuch who had once served Kimone Kalinnan Kastro. He became the lying, deceitful and remorseless killer who never looked twice behind him at the trail of destruction that he left behind, or the place that he originally came from. A wandering soul without aim, defying to be bound to anything, to let anything capture his attention against his will.  
  
Until he met Illumi. One look at the young boy, dressed as a girl in pink frills and ribbons in his hair had set his blood racing, partly because Illumi had been pretty all his life, and partly because he exuded the dangerous aura of a ruthless assassin which was so fatally attracting. Something had finally bound him with a bond so strong not even his madness could overcome. Now he was attaching concepts of 'right' and 'wrong' to his actions. If he kept this up, he would no longer be the unpredictable magician anymore and he didn't know whether to cry or be glad.  
  
"There's no time to ponder on the past now, Hisoka-chan." It was a voice that he would never forget, and he closed his eyes to picture his hime-sama, kindly watching over him.  
  
"But Hime-sama, I think I'm in love." He murmured in slight protest.  
  
A laugh resembling the tingling of silver bells. "Then make sure you'll look after my nephew Hisoka-chan."  
  
Hisoka opened his eyes and saw Princess Kimone Kalinnan Kastro sitting beside him on the desolate stone bench, her back straight as an arrow, a poise so regal and elegant in her heavy dark yellow robes and the stunning headdress supported by her fine luminous black hair, its diamonds twinkling like stares in the night.  
  
"Welcome back Hisoka-chan." She said gravely. "It's time to be yourself again. All these years alone, braving the terrible storms of this world. You must be so tired being someone else."  
  
"I don't know hime-sama, I don't know what is the real me anymore." Indeed, he did sound so very tired and lonesome.  
  
"Hisoka-chan, the time has come to remember your duty."  
  
"Duty?" he laughed out loud in short bursts. "Ten years ago, I would have rejected any sense of duty towards Rodimostev II or his stupid bitch of an Empress. But Rudy saved Illu's life, so I'll do whatever is needed to repay this favor."  
  
"Dear Hisoka-chan, I'm so glad you've finally returned. I was always worried about what would happen to you." She gave him a solemn smile filled with sadness.  
  
"Hime-sama.." Hisoka heard his voice beginning to crack and waver.  
  
"Follow your heart my little darling, and don't be afraid to look back anymore ok? I've always wanted to say this to you in the event that you returned to the Forbidden Palace. No one is ever going to hunt you down anymore, ever. I'll make sure of that.." The apparition faded whilst Hisoka watched on, his heart wrenching in pain and his throat constricted so tightly he could barely breathe.  
  
The cool winds blew and a single tear trickled down his cheek.  
  
"HISOKA! What are you doing sitting there?" Karen yelled out to him. Hisoka stared dumbly at the trio who were looking back, equally quizzical. "We're going to General Headquarters. You'd better come along with us."  
  
~ time has come to remember your duty ~  
  
The magician snapped to attention. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"If you don't get your flabby arse off that seat now, I'll show you what's wrong." Karen growled, and took off without waiting for a response, leaving Hisoka to run after them, slightly flustered.  
  
=========  
  
Misha and Berenger argued vehemently and extensively on the interpretation of Renard's prophecy. They accepted its worth immediately after the Palace Guardian's sent troops around the walls of the Forbidden Palace and discovered shattered remnants of what the bomb squad recognized to be explosive components. One of the fragments remaining was a timer which showed that the bombs were set to go off at exactly three o'clock past midnight. That was the most convincing proof. They also accepted Silva's theorem that there would be something akin to a full scale attack on the Palace and so plans and emergency measures were rapidly being set up.  
  
"Kurapika! Leorio!" Gon exclaimed in relief as his arrived in safety to the large room, its walls lined with impressive screens and panels upon panels of controls and buttons. Dozens of people scattered to an fro, relaying messages to the guard stations littered across the large city and remote flying cameras were inconspicuously unleashed into the darkness, and the monitors all lit up with shots of the quiet streets, the brightly coloured banners barely visible under the cover of darkness.  
  
Karen immediately stepped next to her father and concentrated on the matter at hand and they all watched her face visibly pale with fright, tension and apprehension. It carried the look of a man going into war with no hope of returning. She gave several curt nods to General Kamus' words, then returned stoically to inform her cousin Killua and his friends of the stakes at hand. Milluki and Karuto also gathered around quietly, so that they too wouldn't be caught up in the ensuing chaos.  
  
"Father says that all the informants that have been planted among the rebels have been terminated. The last we heard from them was that large armaments were being smuggled into the city. Then General Misha lost track of what happened when our links were cut. So the whole Palace Guards are on war footing and everyone is preparing for the worst. I myself would be taking up position in the back lines, here, in the Forbidden Palace, within close proximity of the Throne Room. The Zoldick family has agreed to lend a hand since most of the Generals are out of town, so now I am going to ask you whether you will take part in the last line of defence against Hell."  
  
"You mean to fight for and defend the current Emperor?" Kurapika asked acidly.  
  
Leorio groaned out loud. "Would you two quit it already?!"  
  
Gon looked positively puzzled. "What has Kurapika been arguing about with Karen-san?"  
  
Leorio waved his hand in dismissal of the topic. "Don't bring it up Gon, or they'll start again, and you don't want to be there when it happens."  
  
Kurapika gave Leorio a hard look and then turned to Gon. "Gon, do you want to stand and fight for the bloody butcher who kills on whim just to have her own way?"  
  
"Take that back you sniveling foreigner! Who are you to bring your lofty concepts and ideals here and to judge us with them? Rudy is an honourable and noble person who deserves everyone's loyalty."  
  
"She ordered children, young defenceless children to clear minefields, and sent the rest of them to work as slaves or worse, sold into brothels!" Kurapika strained hard to prevent himself from shouting.  
  
"Emperor Rodimostev saved this entire nation and rescued countless of towns and villages from the devastation of war!" Karen growled back with equal ferocity.  
  
Gon was positively confused. All his life, he had seen people as they were, just humans, doing what they did. His friends knew him as the child who knew no good or evil and never thought about concepts as right or wrong, only that which appealed to him, and that which didn't. But now he was confronted with what he considered to be two very different views of the one person. One which bought good to people and one which walked the world like a devil, treading on the fields of bones of her fallen enemies. It seemed like a portrayal of two very different persons, and he had never had to deal with that before. It only caused him more distress.  
  
"So is Rudy a person deserving of our help?" He tried hard to avoid, or rather did not understand the concepts of 'good' and 'bad' hence it only made the decision more difficult. It didn't help that Karen and Kurapika both answered differently at the same time. The doctor rubbed her temples wearily.  
  
"It matters not what you decide. I just need to know whether you will aid the rebels and Nihilists?"  
  
"Are Nihilists the ones who drove Allu mad and crippled him?" Killua asked slowly. He received a flat 'yes' for an answer. "In that case, I will not fight for them, but against them. No one crosses a Zoldick and gets away with it, especially after the pain they've caused Allu after all these years, as much as I dislike him."  
  
Gon nodded appreciatively. "I can easily make up my mind against those kinds of people. I certainly won't be associating with them, even if my life depended on it." He said firmly. They all looked to Kurapika.  
  
"I won't join with the Emperor's defence, nor will I aid these despicable people - "  
  
"Then you are with us." Karen said coldly and abruptly "because they will ask you the same question, and if you refuse to be a part of them, then you are against them and you will have no choice but to defend yourself, which means defending the Emperor. That's all the reassurance I need." She turned away just as quickly to speak a few quiet words with her father. The General looked perturbed and his gaze lingered worriedly on his daughter back as she left the room.  
  
"Where has Karen-san gone?" Killua asked his uncle.  
  
"I can't stop her from doing what she wants to do." Kamus sighed wearily. "She wants to take part in the Palace's inner defences, which...can become quite desperate and bloody if the rebels do make it this far. It is...not the most pleasant position to be in." He turned away and spoke no more.  
  
"Umm.uncle, where should - "  
  
"Killu!" Kikyou's voice cut through. "Don't bother your uncle. If you've got any questions, just ask me."  
  
Killua's shoulders visibly drooped and he reluctantly asked his mother where he should go when all the fighting occurred.  
  
"Stick with your friends in the Palace, hear near the Throne Room. If in doubt, stick to Karen-chan or Koran. They'll know what to do."  
  
Berenger coughed loudly, catching everyone's attention. "I've been having a small discussion with Master Echlan and the young lad Alluka here. I think there is a small breakthrough on the third line of the prophecy."  
  
~ Parents and Brothers will turn against each other ~  
  
Echlan nodded and stepped in to take over the briefing. "You see, Alluka had earlier gave us some brief description of the experiments that he had been subjected to by the Nihilists some years ago. He is unwavering on the fact that it was through those many hideous exercises which led to his mind powers. Telepathy and esp is not extensively researched, because most scientists and neurologists believe that us humans cannot use more than the ten percent of the brain. But I've just traveled through the time and space continuum, much to my dislike, and I cannot dispute that Alluka does have some certain abnormal abilities. Alluka-kun, please tell us what you can do with these strange forces?"  
  
With prompting from his grandfather, Alluka reluctantly spilled his secrets. "The first thing I experimented with was simple mind reading, observing other people's inner consciousness with my extended mind. When I found out how ridiculously easy that was to achieve, I thought that if I could read what people are thinking about, can I control that thinking? And if I control the way someone thinks, does that mean I can control the way they act and behave? After much experimentation, I was able to succeed in controlling two subjects - a cat and a mouse whereby I ordered the mouse to attack the cat who I also controlled and commanded it to remain motionless. It was quite amusing at first, and I was sure that I wasn't using my nen, not that I'm the control type anyway. So since then, I've been doing expansive and extended research and information gathering on this new mind development, and I did find quite a few unorthodox sites and groups which kidnapped subjects to conduct further experiments on them. I gleaned a few interesting ideas, but the most striking one was that these little communities of scientists were funded by the Nihilists themselves through respective third and fourth parties to cover tracks. The closest and most constructive guess that I could come up with therefore is that if the Nihilists are involved, and people will start turning against each other, I'm assuming they've got an army of people with mind extensions, just like me."  
  
"An army of people?" Milluki snorted. "Well, I'll just assemble a small army of cyborgs in the meantime. They can't override something that isn't there."  
  
Echlan ignored Millu and continued. "The suggestion is quite sound because it fits in with line four: Fight the madness with the devil..when the seven suns are suspended in the sky. The former Emperor Renard has already confirmed that the young lad is the devil in his visions, so since Alluka has these similar mind powers, he should be the one to deal with them."  
  
"I've got a better idea." Misha grated harshly, clearly disliking the discovery of such phenomenon. He turned to the young assassin. "You've got four hours kid. Scan the entire city, find out where these espers are and we'll blow them off the face of the earth."  
  
"With what?" Kamus looked up sharply.  
  
"Sky Cruisers of course." The madman's eyes glinted fiercely on the pale face. "We'll have every laser cannon aimed and ready to fire on the exact moment that Alluka gives us the co-ordinates."  
  
Sky Cruisers were the unique tech developments of Arcadian war engineers during the ten year war. No longer was air travel solely dominated by slow moving and vulnerable blimps. The engineers and scientists had come up with massive air fortresses each with one hundred and twenty laser cannons, capable of ripping up valleys of mountains and blow away large cities in a matter of minutes.  
  
"General Deathstalker and his contingent are already racing back. He was stationed in Shandrakor, but if the Sky Cruisers travel up to maximum speed, they'll be here in five hours. Between three and four o'clock, we'll just have to have the army on the streets."  
  
"You've gone crazy Misha! Sky cruisers in such close proximity to the Forbidden Palace? What if one of the beams go astray? Have you any idea how populated this area is around here?"  
  
"We still haven't figured the part about the suns though." Gon spoke up. "I think it's important because Alluka is supposed to do something important when there are seven suns in the sky."  
  
"We can't even begin to fathom what on earth that means, and Renard can't remember his visions clearly anymore. Alluka, lets just stick to the part where you start scanning every inch of this city and find out what or who will send people fighting against each other." Kamus poured over the map. "Have troops currently out on patrol be informed of what will happen in the next few hours. Rope, I want lots of it. When the madness begins, we'll distribute rope to the sane ones and let them tie down the ones who are under control."  
  
"But the Sky Cruisers." Misha whined.  
  
"No Misha." Kamus responded harshly, his glare hard and unyielding. "No fireworks, just simple, efficient prevention."  
  
"Speaking of fireworks, I better get some Illuminators ready. I'm putting money on that they will try to cut off our electricity. Begin power backup buildup, relay message to all troops. Also start drawing in the runners. I'm assuming that they will try to jam our frequencies too."  
  
Echlan gestured to Hisoka and Koran, the two childhood friends who could almost be passed off as twins. He presented each with a slim sword encased in a silver scabbard, its bone handle gleaming sickly in the bright light.  
  
"You're assigned to the North Gate - the main entrance. It might be the place of the bloodiest battle as the rebels try to ram their way into the Forbidden Palace. That's why I'm placing both of you there and giving you these swords that you've been longing for ever since you've laid your eyes on them. I trust you two still remember the steps?"  
  
Hisoka grinned at Koran. "How could we forget? You practically branded them into our minds." They both drew the swords at the same time and marveled at the way the light was unnaturally absorbed into the dully gleaming blades. It was a blade longing for the taste of blood.  
  
"I trust that your minds are still thoroughly connected then." Echlan also smiled, but it was the coy smile of a dangerous predator. "No one's seen the Meteor Rain for at least two hundred years. Make sure it's spectacular."  
  
Hisoka and Koran murmured their promises and could only look into each other's eyes and giggle hysterically, in that homicidally murderous way.  
  
"Meteor Rain?" Zeno said. "What a curious name. It's a martial arts technique I suppose."  
  
Berenger nodded vigorously. "Eunuch only though because of the strength, speed, skill and grace required. It got its name because of the superstition that when people die, you see a shooting star, which is, in essence, a meteor."  
  
Leorio's mind flipped. "You are implying therefore, that this technique brings on massive destruction?"  
  
Echlan gave the laugh of a villain. "Yes! Stars will be dropping from the heavens in showers like droplets of water in the rain. It is the ultimate killing technique."  
  
"Trust Hisoka to know it." Gon murmured to Killua.  
  
  
  
Kikyou ushered her children and Killua's friends outside the Throne Room after the briefing was over and regarded them solemnly. She studied them all, from her youngest daughter Karuto who stood quietly, calm and unaffected, to Alluka, who was already beginning to reach out with his mind to sweep and scan the city, then to Killua and his older brother Milluki.  
  
She chose her words carefully. "Hell will come for us at three o'clock. It is not an understatement, and I don't think your training ever covered such chaotic situations. War is different to murder." She made sure they all paid attention to her before continuing. "It will be very confusing and at times, you will find yourselves isolated. Please look after yourselves and take care."  
  
"That's ok mama, we're smart and strong people. We know how to look after ourselves." Milluki quickly said, suddenly embarrassed by his mother's show of affection.  
  
Kikyou nodded slowly. "Millu, you don't know nen, so it's best for you to stick with Killua, just in case. Karuto.will you stay by mama's side?"  
  
"No okaa-sama, I'm going to stand guard near the East Gate and fight."  
  
"But mama's never seen you fight before."  
  
Karuto stepped closer to her mother and stared at her with eyes alive with a furious intensity. "Ni-chan always buys me the prettiest dresses." She said firmly. Kikyou didn't understand why her daughter's voice had suddenly become so serious and emotive, and she was sure that Karuto was trying to express and imply something in those few words alone, but couldn't put her finger on it. "And Ni-chan made me Belle." She held up the hideous doll again, the fierce determine still burning bright in her expression. "The Emperor saved Ni-chan and is ni-chan's friend, so Belle is going to kill anything that tries to hurt the Emperor."  
  
"You're going to fight for Illumi?" Kikyou asked incredulously.  
  
"Belle is going to kill anything that tries to hurt ni-chan's friend." Karuto repeated, and Belle just continued to smile her sickening smile.  
  
"Killua, why don't you head over to the East Gate then, and keep an eye on your sister for me." Kikyou turned to her rebellious son with slight pleading. Killua readily accepted.  
  
"Mama will be part of the defence between the North Gate and the Throne Room. If anyone wants to get to the Emperor, they'll have to get through me first. You'll know where to find me if you've got trouble. Dad will be there too."  
  
Kikyou left after a few more words and the group looked at each other. All eyes turned to Kurapika.  
  
"So what will you do then?" Leorio folded his glasses and placed them in his pocket.  
  
"Like Karen said, I have no choice but to defend myself when the Nihilists break through. I'll stay with you and watch your backs."  
  
"We've got until three o'clock. What's the rush? Why don't we raid the Imperial kitchens? I'm starting to get hungry." Milluki suggested. For once, everyone thought that was a relatively good idea. 


	23. Chapter 21

Chapter 21  
  
It was Cat who woke up Illumi at two o'clock and explained to him all that was happening. The eldest Zoldick child listened intently, his large cat like eyes rarely blinking as he tuned to every detail. Now and again, he would scratch Cat's chin, even though he was the nen manifestation of the first Kalinnan emperor.  
  
~ Protect the One and let no ill befall her. But it's too late! ~  
  
"I don't like the sound of this. It says that Rudy is going to die." Illumi said and looked at Cat with varying degrees of menace.  
  
"I need the Dark Executioner to help me guard Rodimostev." Renard simply said. "I don't even know where to begin to look because I'm sure I sure something that was very close to god in my visions. You are the only other natural nen user here, so you are the perfect choice to help me protect Rudy until we find out who is this mysterious being." Cat looked at him slightly questioningly. "Just how much training have you had with your full potentials?"  
  
"None." said Illumi calmly. "But I know my limitations and what I can do. Rudy dragged my soul up from the depths of loneliness and despair, and Karen-chan highly reveres her Emperor. I will not fail these people." The assassin ignored Cat's gaping jaw and continued.  
  
"Much of the prophecy is comprehensible, save that bit about the suns. We can't do much now. Where is Rudy?"  
  
============  
  
At first, Rodimostev Alanis Kalinnan III thought that tonight was going to be like every other night. That was until the head of Eunuchs, the elegant and powerful Echlan politely entered her study with a dish of cut fruits and informed her that after her midnight snack, she should prepare for the upcoming assault against the Forbidden Palace.  
  
Her first reaction was anger - angry that she was not first informed, and betrayed, that her own people would turn against her.  
  
The second reaction was fear because she was now carrying the most precious burden in the world. She clutched the Pendant, dangling on the strongest chain around her neck, concealed beneath her robes. Emperors may come and go, but the Pendant remained and the one who carried it was the Emperor.  
  
The Pendant is the Device which allows the Emperor to control the nen around her and mould it to her will. It is a flat circular disc, transparent and strangely faceted inside so that when the sun hit the object, it would break up the light into many sparkling rainbows. As it was worn around the neck, it was always in physical contact with the wearer, and the nen of the wearer activated the Pendant. Thus whenever Rudy screamed away her pain and loneliness in the temple, the Pendant would be influenced by her own nen, and in turn, reflect it in the sea of nen around the Forbidden Palace. That was how tidal waves occurred. However, she no longer held ultimate faith in that idea, for only a few nights ago, Illumi had been able to send shockwaves just as strong and forceful as hers when he was trapped in the desolate Cell. Things had just been so hectic and her emotions had been flung into the maelstrom with the approaching Pledge that she didn't even have time to ask Echlan about how Illumi was also able to control the nen around them, something which only she should be able to do with the pendant.  
  
And now, Rudy was afraid to loose it. It was the symbol of her status and position. It was something she traded her humanity and soul to possess. It was what made her Emperor.  
  
Echlan immediately began to fill in each and every impeccable detail which she greatly appreciated, and by the end of his speech, she decided that she would take a stand in the dais outside the Throne Room.  
  
"It's a windy night sire. At least put on your jacket."  
  
It was an unusually windy night for an Arcadian Summer. It must be a bad omen.  
  
"No. I feel fine. Has Alluka come up with anything concerning the way in which my people will be controlled?"  
  
"He is meditating not far off.in a trance. I suppose he is still scanning the city."  
  
"But it's almost three o'clock. I need results soon."  
  
"How can you interfere sire? Mind control is not your area of expertise."  
  
"But I can talk to them." She let the Pendant dangle freely now, no longer hidden, its flat surface shimmering brightly in the unnatural moonlight. "I am going to amplify my voice with the nen and command them to be still. I will not let this prophecy come true."  
  
"I commend your efforts, Rodimostev," Renard said from behind her, his feet silently padding the cold stone floor. "But only Alluka can deal with this I'm afraid. You should be pondering on how there will be seven suns suspended in the sky."  
  
"I already know the answer." Rudy regarded Cat coldly, even though he was her ancestor. "You have no need to worry about that little phrase anymore. It's so simple I wonder why no one ever spotted it." She looked around quietly. "Where is Illumi-san?"  
  
Renard sniffed daintily. "We bumped into the Monk on our way here. Monk insisted that Illumi go with him to the Temple. Apparently, a lot of people want to talk to him."  
  
"Of course." The young emperor suddenly looked down coldly. "He is by far the most powerful person in the Forbidden Palace. Everyone would want to pass their little secrets and abilities on to him." She could not hide the bitterness from her voice.  
  
"What do you mean?" Echlan said sharply.  
  
"What I mean is," Rudy glared at the wide courtyards in front of her "that I've been approached before by all those who've gone by, be they Kalinnan, Cardinal or Wardien or whatever dynasty they come from. They want to pass on their abilities to someone worthy. Apparently, they found me lacking."  
  
"Please don't say that sire." Already in his mind, Echlan was beginning to formulate many ideas and his mind raced to explore the possibilities of each one. As the Master Eunuch whose duty it was to serve the Emperor to the best of his abilities, and anyone who looked like they would even pose as the tiniest threat to her would be dealt with. Regardless of who they were.  
  
"But it's the truth is it not? I'm barely a natural nen user, the Voice being my strongest technique. They tried to show me all these things, but each time, I failed so miserably. I don't get it Echlan. Not all Emperors were natural nen users. Why is it that everyone expects so much of me sometimes? Is it not enough that we won the war? Now, I must somehow be able to miraculously be the ultimate model of what an Arcadian Emperor is supposed to be, nen and all. Is it unacceptable that I can forge this nation into greater glory without being a true natural nen user myself? When I first wore the Pendant, they all see me as another weak Emperor, Echlan, but I will show them that I will be the greatest to ever live. They will see an empire so strong and prosperous that they'll have to cover their eyes from the bright light, even if I can never be one of them."  
  
"You forget sire, that you have other very special talents."  
  
Rudy refrained from snorting. "Oh really? Please inform me, for I seem to have forgotten what I can do."  
  
"You can look into our souls, sire." Echlan said solemnly, his face calm yet with hidden intensity. "You uncover what we try to hide from the world or discover what we thought we had lost within us. You can recover humanity for even the most deranged and filthy murderers, and at the same time, you are the most understanding person there will ever be. That is the type of person who is most fit to be Emperor. Sire, you may only be fourteen, yet your understanding of life is as profound as mine, and I've been around for way too long already. I don't give a damn if Illumi-san can perfect every Sacred Power there is. You know that people will only follow you Sire, not some ex-assassin who only came to his senses a few days ago. I for one will serve no one but you."  
  
Rudy seemed to stare at the eunuch with a puzzled expression, then she frowned, and then she looked downright confused and helpless. Finally her look was dark. "I'm being threatened again. And when I'm threatened, I bite."  
  
"Now is not the time to be jealous of somebody else." Renard said harshly. He turned to direction of the North Gate. "It has finally begun. Let us embrace the inferno that will engulf us in the next few hours."  
  
==========  
  
General Kamus was the only supposedly 'sane' one of the Generals left in the Capital, so whilst Misha took active part in the fighting, he remained in Command Center watching the events unfold. He bit the insides of his cheek in part dismay, part frustration as some of the radio connections with several groups of soldiers out in the city began to buzz with static.  
  
"Frequency blocker in range sir. It looks like they should be able to neutralize it entirely in about two minutes."  
  
"Tell all units to start adjusting their frequencies to Pattern A then, the waiting time is five minutes. Lets make our rebels work to cut us off." He ordered stoically, still glaring hard at the screens. "Also, get them to keep a lookout for where this jammer could be. See it, destroy it."  
  
Another man working at his station cried out in shock, staring dumbly into one of the many large screens. "That's my mom." He pointed a wavering figure at what was once a plain and simple woman, now her face fiercely scowling with a flash of madness in her eyes. In her hands was your ordinary garden shovel, only now, she wielded it with ferocity and set about the blazing streets, intent on destroying anything in her path. His face drained to the colour of bone and he sat limply in his chair, unable to avert his eyes.  
  
"We have a similar situation near the National Park too sir."  
  
"Market square is being ripped up! People seem to have gone.mad."  
  
"One of the factories have been deliberately lit sir. Attention Fire station three, send patrols to contain the outburst of fire at the steelworks factory."  
  
All around him, Kamus heard the relaying of messages of destruction and casualties and families turned and fought against each other.just as Renard has said in his prophecy. He picked up his cellphone and dialed Berenger's number.  
  
The giant Palace Guardian responded after the first ring. "I'm down by the Eastern Gate. The rebels are trying to break through here whilst all the confusion's going on in the city. Damnit! The electricity lines have been sabotaged.I can barely see who's head I'm hacking off."  
  
"People are going mad all around us. Why aren't you with the Emperor?"  
  
"Master Echlan is watching over her. I'm needed here." Berenger broke off for a moment, swearing vehemently which was followed by a series of explosions enough to make Kamus wince. With his ear far away from the phone, he could still hear the Palace Guardian's roar above the din.  
  
"Would someone hurry up and shoot some Illuminators into the sky right now, or I won't be responsible for who my bloody axe hurts."  
  
"I'll contact Echlan. Don't let them break through the Eastern Wing. Sending reinforcements on the way."  
  
"I don't need reinforcements." Berenger continued to shout, the sickly wet sucking sound of him pulling the axe from his victim's body clearly audible. "I just need some damn light. ARE WE DONE WITH THE ILLUMINATORS YET!?"  
  
Kamus hung up and quickly dialed another number, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground as he grew more angry with each passing moment.  
  
"Yes general?" Echlan's low murmur in the quiet background was quite a distinct contrast to the war being waged on the other side of the Palace.  
  
"Does Alluka have anything to say about this madness at all? People have been going for each other's throats in the streets for the past forty five minutes. Where is my bloody answer to this? I thought my nephew promised that he could do something?"  
  
"He's still in his trance, except now he's frowning.what the?" Sounds of loud popping could be heard and Kamus starred impassively into the screens watching the black sky suddenly light up by massive fireworks, the incandescent center still shining brightly as it hung in the sky.  
  
"Berenger's just lit the Illuminators. The electricity lines have been cut off and we're lucky that they haven't blown up the power station."  
  
"Greatest apologies General, but I've never actually seen these Illuminators before."  
  
"Of course you haven't Echlan" Kamus said with incredible patience. "They're new invention, courtesy our war scientists. It's supposed to be able to last two hours."  
  
"Gods..they're shining so brightly they're going to hurt my eyes. It's as if I was staring into the midday sun." Echlan complained.  
  
Sun?  
  
Kamus became frantic. "Echlan! How many of them do you see?"  
  
"You want me to ruin my eyes? Very well..there's six.seven of them."  
  
"That's it! Seven suns suspended in the sky! Renard must have mistaken the Illuminators as stars or suns because they are so bright. Quickly rouse the Emperor. We've got to stop this devastating madness."  
  
He quickly slammed his phone shut, immediately barking new orders and telling the city guards to be on alert for an abrupt change of situation because the seven suns were suspended in the night sky, basking the Forbidden Palace and the surrounding city with a strong unnatural light.  
  
His cellphone madly rung again and he instantly picked it up. Echlan's voice came over to him almost excitedly from the other side, which was rare for those who knew the Master Eunuch found him to be a conservative person who regarded any outward display of emotion as a sign of lack of control.  
  
"General Kamus" his alto voice was nearly shrill. "the young Alluka believes that he was found out what is causing the madness. He is quite certain that there is a large presence out there, a single entity with enormous psychic abilities and thus is able to control so many people at the one time." there was a short period of silence where the rapid speech of two children could be faintly heard. "Alluka-kun says that he cannot deal with such an enormous entity by himself. He likened it to.say he was a candle flame, then the presence out there controlling the civilians would be like a huge sun."  
  
"You mean he's totally outclassed." Kamus summarized for him.  
  
"But the Emperor believes that she can give support to Alluka-kun - "  
  
"That's not possible." Kamus flatly interrupted, annoyed by more harrassing calls and reports on the situation around the Forbidden Palace. If the red alarm lights weren't flashing, he wasn't about to spring a few more grey hairs. "Rudy doesn't have these mind powers that Alluka has, so how on earth is she going to render him aid?"  
  
"The Emperor is going to use the Device and command the nen to.." Loud explosions cut off the master eunuch's speech. "It's too technical for me I'm afraid General. Rudy is very certain and confident that whatever she plans on doing will work..I can see the silhouettes of rebel forces. I'm going to be on my guard but I would feel MUCH safer if the General could fill up the gap in the defence near North Gate please?"  
  
"On it." Kamus shut his phone with a savage and pleased grin. It was brief however and replaced by a frown when he saw the Northern defences begin to crumble under pressure. "Get Brigade Six to reinforce the North Gate..it's about to collapse!"  
  
"Umm.General..Brigades Four to Twelve had to be called into the city to quell the disturbances."  
  
"Are there any other troops we can call for backup?"  
  
The man at the computer deftly clicked several buttons and ran an extensive and exhaustive scan, then numbly shook his head. "All troops have already been deployed and stationed. The current status report of each is that they are needed where they are."  
  
Kamus turned to his Lieutenant. "You take over command here. I'm going out to back up the Zoldick Family."  
  
The Lieutenant gave a sharp salute. "Yes sir!"  
  
*********  
  
Nervousness to Alluka wasn't new. In fact, he had lived with similar negative feelings for the past four years, and he bitterly swore that it wouldn't get the better of him now in this crucial hour. After letting his mind roll over the vast city for the past two hours, he finally spotted an overwhelming presence which had been hidden to him before by state of the art cloaking. But now that he knew it was out there, he knew it would be suicide as a single mind to challenge something the size of a mountain.  
  
And then the Emperor knew exactly what she was doing and clutching the Device around her neck so tightly that her knuckles became a frosty white, the wind began to stir unnaturally around them. In his mind's eye, he was the able to see the gossamer fabric which crested like the gentle waves around them, their colours constantly changing, pulsating as if it were a living being. With an iron will, Rudy activated the Device to carry out her commands, and through the cracks of her fingers, the pendant began to glow and became increasingly bright with no sign of stopping. And the nen wildly lapped at her feet, wrapped about her like a giant cloak of never-ending colours.  
  
Alluka felt his blood rush and his nerves tingle hysterically. He was suddenly boosted with energy, his body being force fed a power which he instantly wielded and transmuted into a psychic energy that allowed his mind to leap out and give a deafening roar of challenge against the overwhelming presence which the rebels controlled.  
  
Echlan gaped as Alluka's image was magnified a hundred times and now his ethereal mind projection crouched slightly, ready to pounce on an evil that he couldn't see. In response to Alluka's challenge, the other presence which had the city gripped in madness sent out the projection of himself as a massive brain with one ghastly eye trying to stare down the young Zoldick.  
  
The whole city must have been able to see this appalling wonder of two espers locked in a battle on a different level and field. The assassin's deadly claws lashed out but met an invisible barrier that the Brain had surrounded itself in, a forcefield of pure energy to repulse anything that dared to come close.  
  
Rudy was now completely bathed with white light, so pure and bright that it outshone the illuminators in the sky and made them look like dim, weak lights. Echlan gasped in terror as he realized that the eighth sun referred to in the prophecy was the Emperor who had never imposed her will on the Device before. There was a terrible reason why and was only clearly evident now. The nen around them was never supposed to be controlled, only made to respond to the subconscious will and emotion. To reach out and grasp this fabric and wield it to one's desire would burn your life away.  
  
The Eight will burn the brightest, but that which burns twice as bright lasts half as long.  
  
Horror dawned on the Master Eunuch and he nearly screamed out in frustration as the words finally made sense. "She is giving up her life in this struggle.the Device is eating away at her right now, bit by bit." a dry and emotionless voice responded to his mute astonishment in his mind and the despair nearly made him cry. Blood steadily ran from Rudy's nose and white strands began to appear in her jet black hair. She could not hold out for long, and whilst the fierce mental struggle continued around him, the master eunuch helplessly ran through the lines of the prophecy again and again to find the again.  
  
Summon the Guardian and the Dark Executioner!  
  
Echlan paced around, gritting his teeth in sheer frustration. Even if Renard was here, the cat could provide no help, and they never figured out who the Dark Executioner was.  
  
In such desperate times when your hands seemed to be tied to affect destiny, there is usually only one thing left to do. He fell to both knees and pressed his forehead onto the trembling ground and began to whisper prayers to the powers that be. "My Emperor is dying..please.please.ancestors and those who have long fallen, rise and protect the Palace for it is now under dire siege."  
  
"Master Echlan, murmuring to the ground will not help you." A calm voice said from behind. Momentarily stunned, the eunuch quickly regained composure and got off his knees, subconsciously dusting his robe. Illumi Zoldick stood in front of him, calm and impassive as profession demanded, but his slightly narrowed eyes questioned him. Echlan frantically gestured to the painfully bright light and told Illumi that the Emperor had to be stopped.  
  
"The rate she's going, her life will be completely burned and -"  
  
The older Zoldick dispassionately looked up at the large projections locked in fierce battle of will and mental power and nodded.  
  
"But if she doesn't continue, then Alluka-kun does not have the power to compete with that pile of guts! That brain there is behind the madness described in the prophecy. But only Rudy as Emperor can use the Device...we're screwed."  
  
Illumi self-assuredly walked into the center of the mini sun and consequently knocked out the Emperor from behind. In rapid moments, the intense light around her dimmed and faded, leaving Echlan gaping, so highly strung on his emotions that he didn't know what he should register at that moment.  
  
Alluka felt his power connection suddenly fade, and in that second, he felt a terror so cold and chilling that he had never experienced before.  
  
But in Illumi's hands materialized a weird instrument which bore a faint resemblance to a harp. The assassin plucked the strings to draw melodious harmony but in a harshly metallic timbre and he opened his voice producing an unnatural sound of the thousands of souls channeling their rage through his voice. It was raw and dissonant and cut through the air like a hot knife on butter. And the nen reacted to this music, roaring like a tornado with Illumi at the vortex, and as his fingers continued to pluck at the strings, Alluka's image became so defined and realistic that it was almost like he had grown into an unbelievable giant.  
  
Feeling the infinite energies circulate his blood, Alluka's eyes blazed with undying determination, and his mind now surged on by what seemed like a tidal wave of energy, he carelessly slapped aside his adversary's shield and with a vicious grin, his clawed hands sliced cleanly through his enemies image. Although Brain did not have a mouth, his dying breath was ripped into a wailing scream of unending hate and destruction followed by the massive destruction of the machine which lay on the outskirts of city.  
  
Alluka's image silently reduced in size and became increasingly transparent until it was blown away by the light breeze whilst Illumi's song came to a discordant end, leaving an unnatural silence. The young assassin slumped forward, totally drained and exhausted, but the grin of victory and accomplishment still hung on his pale, sweat covered face. He even managed to let out a weak laugh but soon lost consciousness, immediately drifting into a deep, well deserved sleep.  
  
Echlan rushed over to where Rudy lay, face pale as ghost, skin as cold as death. "Her pulse is extremely weak.I must call for the Royal Doctor." He tried to calm his trembling fingers and dialed to the Command Center. "Lieutenant, I believe the people have returned to normal.but the Emperor is down. I need a doctor here immediately."  
  
After a brief pause, the Lieutenant responded with dread in his voice. "The Medical sector has been completely blocked off. The Royal Doctors are fighting a hard battle themselves.wait.Miss Karen is out at the North Gate remember? You should go get her!"  
  
"Illumi-san, I'm going to get Karen-chan. Could you guard over Rudy." He said almost breathlessly from the tensions and fear. Illumi wordlessly nodded, though his face looked thoughtful. He stepped next to the Emperor's fallen body and his brother's slumbering one and was surrounded in a glazed, semi transparent done. Echlan felt his eyes bulge.  
  
"Invulnerable resistance?" he whispered.  
  
"Go get Karen-chan. No one will get through me." He intoned so coldly and clinically. Despite himself, Echlan felt a merciless smile pull his lips. The Zoldick sure did train the best assassins who would remain unmoved even in the most chaotic of times. 


	24. Chapter 22

It's been a while since I've updated this story - NO, I have not abandoned this.just put it on the shelf for a long time and neglected it a bit. So to treat everyone, a longer than usual chapter ( The end's about to come up, and with my exams close to finishing, you guys won't have to wait any longer. So enjoy, and post a review to keep up my incentive to write fics (  
  
  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Killua growled in annoyance as he just managed to dodge a stray piece of shrapnel which had somehow made his way to his blind spot. His sweat covered his brow, partially because he had been dodging all sorts of incendiary devices for the past two hours or so, and partly because when Alluka decided to grow thirty feet tall, his stomach clenched up so badly that he thought he was bearing a child. The nen torrents were gradually dimming down, but until then, everyone felt sick and too exhausted to move.  
  
"Killua, we better retreat back more a bit." Kurapika called to him, his chain lashing out to catch several oncoming bullets and retaliate in return. One stray shot past his face and he flinched when a trickle of blood ran down his pale cheek.  
  
Leorio got caught within the radius of a grenade. He managed to put up his defence on time, avoiding serious injury but as a consequence of the blast, he was blown several courtyards away with his shriek flying with him.  
  
"Leorio!" Gon cried out and immediately ran after his friend.  
  
"No Gon! Don't get separated - " another deafening explosion cut the blond off and he grimaced in annoyance rather than pain. He peered through the thick black smokes and swirling clouds of dust and wondered how many more people were going to charge in towards them from the East Gate. If it was bad enough here, he wondered how the North Gate was holding. The palace guards around him were all injured, some even crippled and should be out of action but their faces held grim determination.  
  
"Damnit." The younger assassin spat out as he tore at the throats of the few people who had advanced too close to his barricade of broken wooden fences and makeshift sandbags. "We don't have enough people.where's backup? Or is it up to me to give them another good does of electric shocks?" purple nen tingled around his fingers and electrifying energy danced and laced his fingers. He pressed his palm flat onto the ground and all around him the rebels shrieked in agony.  
  
"Good thinking Killua, that should buy us some time." Kurapika commented, pulling another grateful soldier to the safety behind their makeshift barricade. He tried hard to ignore the long trail of blood left behind and went about with healing, pushing his emperor time endurance to the limit.  
  
"Miss Karen." some of the soldiers gasped weakly. Kurapika and Killua turned and saw the young doctor covered from head to toe in dried blood, presumably none of it hers. Her eyes were unfocused and hollow and it seemed in the mere space of two hours, her cheeks had sunken and her frame seemed awfully thin.  
  
"I'll take care of things here. The rest of you go." She murmured quietly, stepping past the protection of the makeshift barricade out onto the uneven courtyard jagged with broken rocks and marble, splinters of wood and the steaming remains of bombs.  
  
"We better do as Miss Karen orders." A soldier gasped weakly, his hand pressed down hard on his wound. "When Miss Karen looks like that, no one can argue with her."  
  
"She's my cousin! I can't leave her to.die!" Killua exclaimed.  
  
"Whoever said she was going to die?" he choked for breath. "Miss Karen's going to stay here and defend the East Gate and it will not collapse. We'd do best not to interfere."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He means," another soldier butted in "that Miss Karen is absolutely capable of handling the situation here, and we best be on our way."  
  
"She's a doctor for goodness sakes! We can't leave her to defend this area ALONE!?" Killua tried to keep the hysteria from his voice but found that an almost impossible task. His eardrums nearly burst as another shell exploded within close proximity of them, rocking the ground beneath his feet and depriving him of his balance.  
  
"Dear lords...it's a Nihilist! Men, prepare to fight to the last one!" the captain of the regiment ordered, struggling to a siting position and with blood caked fingers trembling over the right levers on his rifle. When the smoke and dust cleared, a figure in the midst of the scrabbling enemy rebels clearly stood out by the sickly nen she was giving off.  
  
Only that it was not nen. Nihilists traditionally worked towards the destruction and prevention of the use of nen which made nen users a god amongst mere the mortals who would never realize their potentials. It was an inequality that the twisted founder of the Nihilists hated with a passion like no other and thus he set about to create an organization which would wipe out every trace of nen in the world.  
  
And at the epitome of this organization were fanatics like Altesia who proudly bore the symbol, cruelly tattooed to her forehead. She dressed in dirty leathers and furs with a savage grin on her face, glorying in the death and destruction of the very center which first developed nen for humanity. She then tilted her head back and let loose the laugh, an ugly sound which was more reminiscent of a series of growls. Was the Forbidden Palace reduced to sending out frail and little princesses to do their dirty fighting? She wondered with exaltation as she saw the fragile and slender frame of Karen Kalinnan Kastro, who stood with the utter cold calmness and precision of mind that Killua had often experienced in the past.  
  
Karen was no doctor! She was exhibiting the aura and professionalism of an assassin - a killer through and through.  
  
Karen never heard the large blasts of explosion ricocheting around her, nor did she falter at the surging ground. When the Nihilist fanatic appeared through the fog and smoke of debris and destruction, her mind remained as calm as the ocean before the storm, her heart did not skip a beat, and she only saw the death of the enemy so beautifully brought about by her. The bloodthirsty monster within her was fully awake, bought back to life from its dormant sleep by the call of war, the sound of bullets crackling the air, the screams and cries of men and women dying. This was its element, this was when it was alive and comfortable. O, to walk the world and trample on the blood and bones of those gone past, that, is what we killers live for it roared triumphantly in her mind. A tear may have rolled down Karen's hollow and blood caked face, but she never noticed. It was too late to go back to who she was, who she could have been. She had killed in the decade long war and now war had come back to her, and she would do what she did best.  
  
She smiled gently at the rebels.  
  
And Killua and Kurapika shivered with revulsion, feeling icy beads of sweat dot their brows. Who was this person? Was this the sweet and outgoing Karen- chan that they knew?  
  
She raised her right arm, a living nightmare draped in the blood red nen, her limp limbs moving like someone had pulled on the marionette's strings, doing the awful dance of death. Small specks of red, dust sized particles shimmered about her form, and all the Imperial soldiers hurried to cover their mouths and noses.  
  
"Poisonous gasses and small lethally toxic bugs materialized by Karen- sama's powers. I'd advise you not to breath it in." the captain hoarsely whispered to Kurapika and Killua. The young assassin immediately did as he was told, fearing that not even his training in tolerance of poisons could protect him from this. He wondered what this particular brand of poison that Karen had conjured up could do. In his stomach, a sickening feeling was starting to spread over the rest of his body, and he realized that it was cramps from the terror and dread he currently experienced. If he got out of this alive, he vehemently vowed never to return.  
  
The red, rank cloud of death expanded and followed the wind, drifting towards the rebels. The unnatural light of the night created by the illuminators added to the whole horror to the nightmare because as the shadows danced, it gave the poisonous fog life, a sickly cancer which was looming towards its enemies, only too eager to stir its sticky fingers inside their warm bodies and do hideous things to it.  
  
Bewildered, the rebels frantically looked about for an escape, but it was too late. Tiny little parasites injected toxins which rapidly caused their cells to rot and deteriorate. Others gagged and choked on the gas, their tongues unnaturally protruding forth, eyes impossibly bulging and the more fortunate dead were bubbling bloody froth at their gaping and silently screaming mouths.  
  
Only Altesia stood unharmed, protected by a mechanical device which could project something similar to Illumi's Void. And so no nen touched her and she only remained safe whilst the rebels dropped like flies beside her. She grinned, displaying her pointy teeth.  
  
"Kastro - the infamous Devil born on the Battlefields of Holt. How fitting that I should be the one to bring the monster down from its lofty throne of blood and souls? That's all nen ever does to this world - it only allows suffering to occur on a greater scale. I shall pull down this filthy institution and create an equal society, and the first people to go are people like you Kastro."  
  
"Shut up and fight." Karen said with perfect calm and took one step forward to greet her opponent.  
  
Every strike was deadly, aimed to take away the other's life in one swift, deft movement. A fine film of red nen covered Karen's hand, and it wasn't difficult to work out what it did to it.  
  
"She's the reinforcement type all right." Kurapika quietly mumbled to himself. The poisonous gases was manipulation of her own nen though, and the tiny, microscopic sized toxin carrying bugs were created by materialization skill. Right now, her right hand would be as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, and it mercilessly sought each and every vulnerable point in Altesia's stance.  
  
At close quarter fighting, Altesia could not use her massive array of projectile weapons. The device sustaining the void around her drained the battery power like crazy, and steadily, she knew that in only a minute or so, she'd be completely defenceless to the fallen angel who had arisen from the fiery depths of hell to greet her. From her training as a Nihilist, at the top ranks of the fanatics, she thought that she had seen the most resolute and unyielding fervour in the eyes of her followers. But this frail little girl of royalty before her, an ordinary girl with high aspirations of life seemed like no ordinary girl. The coldness of her very being seemed to burn her skin whenever they touched, even though Altesia swore that her Void device hadn't completely broken down on her yet.  
  
And then a peaceful calm settled in her heart, for she knew with assured certainty that she was no match for the monstrous fiend before her who remorselessly pushed forward on the attack, never wielding an inch or quarter or an opening for her opponent to strike.  
  
Is this what they call the perfect killing machine? Honed to the peak in every aspect and skill that a mere touch could take life away?  
  
Dear gods, she prayed, not even zealot's training had prepared her for this! Compared to Karen Kalinnan Kastro, the legendary Demoness born on the Battlefields of Holt approximately four years ago, the ruthless and smiling killer, her own ghastly image was like child's play, a mere mask of puny horror to deceive the world and her own mind. Real intimidation needed no suicidal attitude or sharp, pointy, filed teeth or a homicidal personality. To grant eternal nightmares, you only needed to abandon your own humanity and step forth to let your enemies know the horrors you will unleash upon them.  
  
With a hiss, her device which had been clasped tightly to her dirty old leather belt finally gave way, having used up all its power and Altesia was vulnerable. Karen suddenly dropped low and rammed her shoulder into her gut, crushing out every molecule of oxygen in Altesia's lungs and temporarily deflating them. Momentarily stunned, Karen rammed her hand into Altesia's chest without an iota of hesitation and crushed the vulnerable beating muscle within her hand.  
  
Altesia tried to speak, working her mouth to form words which couldn't come out. Blood ran thickly down her chin and nose, her vision rapidly dimmed around her the last thing she saw on earth was the gentle smile of a natural born killer.  
  
It had only taken a fraction of a second to destroy the source of life within her enemies body. Karen pulled her hand out as quickly as she had stuck it in and calmly looked around for more people to kill. Killua noted with rising hysteria that she wasn't even breathing hard. Rapid footsteps behind him quickly gave him something else to think about rather than this revelation of this new side to his cousin. The Master of Eunuchs sprinted towards them exuding a clear sense of urgency.  
  
"Miss Karen!" he exclaimed between short breaths. Karen calmly looked at him.  
  
"Are there more people for me to kill? The East Gate should be secure now that one of the ringleaders is destroyed. Where are the others?"  
  
"I don't need you to kill right now Karen. Doctor Faust and his associates are locked in battle and the Emperor is dying. I need you to come with me to the Dais right now!"  
  
He made as if to grab her arm and drag her along, but she jerked away. Echlan glared at her in alarm.  
  
"I'm no doctor, Echlan." She informed him monotonously.  
  
Under the unnatural light of the illuminators suspended in the sky, Karen looked anything but a healer of the injured or sick. She continued:  
  
"I am a killer, and must go where the killing is."  
  
"Young lady," Echlan began with a very patient and patronizing tone which barely hid the panic in his voice. "You will come with me this instant, or so help me god, I'll threaten your father to make you come if I have to!"  
  
"You dare, old man?" she said, voice still calm and tranquil.  
  
"This way, right now!" the eunuch snapped.  
  
It was then that Killua realized that the prophecy hadn't been referring to the Zoldicks.  
  
i~ Killers are forever killers ~ /I  
  
It was referring to Karen.  
  
===============  
  
Chaos boiled unhealthily where the North Gate used to be. The once impregnable walls had cracked in many places, some groaning and swaying, threatening the crush the combatants underneath. In the many courtyards and rooms, bullets snapped in the air like static, flimsy barricades were hastily erected and when the ammo ran out, cold steel bit into flesh and drew blood.  
  
Hisoka and Koran laughed out loud with exhilaration and danced madly, weaving and tracing their ways into large groups of rebels and nihilists wielding the bloodthirsty swords which savored the soul of each victim. Like a colourful blur, they vanished from sight, leaving only a small breeze, and they'd reappear a hundred yards away with wide grins on their faces and people falling down around them before they even knew what had taken their life. No one could touch the pair - their grace, speed and strength gave them the appearance of a demi god, wallowing gleefully in the blood and devastation around them and helping themselves to a fair share too.  
  
But people still managed to get past them and rolled in their cannons and bazooka launchers to blast the centuries old Palace apart, room by room.  
  
That was when they were overcome with two giant roaring lions bathed in holy flames that instantly seared their skin and set them alight just by being too close to the hapless rebels.  
  
Kamus's scowl had become downright nasty when he noted Koran and Hisoka laughing the night away like two adolescents on a high from some highly dangerous cocktail of drugs. They were getting careless for all the slaughter they bought about.  
  
The ashen remains of the rebels drifted away on the evening breeze and Kamus reigned back in his weapons, amazing creatures of fear and awe, fueled by his very anger and determination. The large catlike apparitions predatorily stalked around in large circles, making sure nothing alive would get past the General. To Kamus' far left, Silva and his sister were busy battling another section of the crowd where the walls had actually crumbled and the rebels had broken through. Zeno had been urgently called by Echlan to retreat back to the Dais near the throne room.  
  
An ungodly smile graced Kamus' rough and haggard features. North Gate was going to hold, and if the rebels wanted to charge to the Throne Room from this direction, it would be over his dead body, literally.  
  
================  
  
Not long after the fighting had broken ought, the Palace Guardian, who was supposed to be guarding the East Gate, had been swept away by more urgent calls of a threatened breakthrough down near South Gate. So he ran like the wind to answer those calls, and a young and silent little girl who resembled a porcelain doll followed him.  
  
He faltered in his step. "Look kid, you should be stayin' with your parents you know."  
  
Karuto's impassively cold expression remained steady and she gazed only in the direction of the South Gate. Berenger gave a soft sigh and picked up speed again, his foot at light as the wind, the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.  
  
The situation at South Gate had completely collapsed. Only a handful of soldiers remained, huddled behind a particular fresco that had fallen. They eyes lit up with hope when they caught the merest glimpse of the fearful silhouette of the Palace Guardian in the clearing smoke and dust.  
  
"General, they have a powerful nen user out there." The injured captain gasped, clenching his bleeding side in pain. "Most likely a the control type.."  
  
"Water. We believe he controls water."  
  
Berenger's face screwed up in disgust. He didn't have time for riddles. "There's no rain here tonight. How is he so dangerous then?" His scowl made his own men fear for their precarious safety. The Palace Guardian was one hell of a fighter, but never, ever, on general principles, ask him to solve a problem.  
  
"What they mean is that the nen user out there could probably affect the water in our blood." Karuto quietly suggested.  
  
"Oh.I see." Berenger chuckled, a bit embarrassed, but one thick fleshed fist stopped anyone from giggling with him too. It failed to wipe the smirk off the soldier's faces however.  
  
"His area of control is about a two meter radius. Ammunition ran out a while ago, and we haven't been able to take him down. Non of us here are the release type." The soldiers shared the same miserable look of defeat in their downcast eyes for a brief moment.  
  
"This is a complex situation indeed." Karuto continued but her mind was already analyzing each and every aspect. "Because he is not merely a stationary target either. If we were to launch projectiles at him, then he would naturally dodge. To enter his perimeter is to suffer agonizing pain as he controls the water within our very essence. So we must trap him." Her eyes flared for a moment, a scheme already taking shape. All the men huddled around the usually silent child and strained their ears to listen to every word she had to say.  
  
"First, we must locate him. He's in hiding, knowing that the Palace Guardian has arrived."  
  
"He damn well should be!" Berenger huffed with pride.  
  
"Then we must find a suitable bait and lure him come out. Then, they must step within a meter of this man."  
  
One of the soldiers looked shocked. "No! It'd be suicide! To step within two meters of him is to loose every ounce of strength you have. And then you are vulnerable to the rapier that he wields."  
  
"But you can still put up your 'ten' can't you?"  
  
The captain gave this some thought. "If Berenger goes, he could probably last three seconds most with 'ten' on. After that, he'll be vulnerable."  
  
Under the eerie light of the Illuminators, Karuto's face was deathly pale. Whether it be the trick of the shadows and lights however, it seemed like she had formed a small smile on her expressionless face.  
  
"That will be more than ample time. Berenger-san, can you strap Belle onto your belt please?"  
  
The Palace Guardian dubiously took the ugly construct from Karuto's small hands and tried to look away as he tied the doll onto him. He got cold sweat just by looking at the gaping wound which was supposed to resemble a smile. The 'doll' reminded him of a limp corpse lifelessly dangling on his waist with a batch of black hair bobbing up and down, catching each little breeze.  
  
"When he comes out, race towards him with your ten on - you MUST be within one meter of him. I won't be far behind you. Then Belle will kill him."  
  
Berenger tried hard not to groan, but he definitely didn't like the plan. He felt like meat going for the chopping board. And how the ridiculous doll was supposed to kill the man was a mystery either. He would have had Karuto explain the situation more clearly first, but he was interrupted by the most filthily arrogant voice he had ever heard in his life, taunting and challenging him to reveal himself.  
  
"You think that might be a trap he's trying to set up as well?"  
  
Karuto withdrew certain items carefully concealed in her kimono sleeves. "I've got a few kunai - why don't you throw it at him and see what gives? When he has an opening, just charge right towards him."  
  
"Ok" Berenger nodded strongly. In a low voice, he growled "All or nothing! Palace Guardian vs. strange water controlling man - Round 1! Start!"  
  
With that, the giant man leapt from his hiding position in an explosive surge of power and relying on natural instinct alone, threw the darts in the direction where the mocking voice was coming.  
  
Thud! Thud! Thud!  
  
Berenger's disappointment quickly melted away into discomforting elevation. Although the kunais were deeply embedded into the wood of a fallen and collapsed pillar, it had obviously pinned down something. It was a near transparent gauze cloak worn by the mysterious man who controlled water. Another nen item which could camouflage the wearer? The Palace Guardian swore that he had felt disappointed in himself when he thought that the kunais had failed to reach target, but on hearing the tearing sound of fabric, a blue haired man, slim, pale and effeminate appeared only a mere foot from where the kunais had struck. Berenger registered cautious exultation on the one hand for having spotted the target with his mere instinct alone, but growing apprehension on the other as his soldiers mentioned no camouflage cloak which could shield its wearer from sight.  
  
"At least give me all the information before sending me out to the guillotine next time!" he muttered darkly to himself, halting whilst waiting to see if there were any more surprises that his soldiers had failed to warn him about.  
  
The man's dainty face creased into an ugly scowl as he examined his damaged article of clothing. He spoke in a smooth silky tenor and at the same time, a delicate rapier fluidly slipped out of the jewel studded sheath with a silent hiss.  
  
"You'll pay for this you graceless brute!"  
  
"I beg your pardon you miserable cretin!" The Palace Guardian furiously sneered and threw the remaining darts in his hand to wipe the haughty look off the other man's face. Actually, it was almost more of a reflex reaction than a calculated move because of the insult. Battle instinct kicked in the moment the blue haired man chose to dodge the remaining kunais rather than block them with his rapier.  
  
*He's not as confident with his weapon as I thought. All the better to execute our plans NOW then* Berenger deducted. Without further notice, he threw his large body at the lean man and made sure he had his 'ten' flaring like mad. Take him by surprise and don't give him time to think about it. However, a lot could happen in three seconds though.  
  
Quietly and patiently waiting in Berenger's shadow was the timidly silent Karuto. One could have said that her thoughts were exactly the same as the almighty Palace Guardian's, and so she knew exactly what was going on.  
  
The gap was now closing between Berenger and the blue haired water controller.  
  
4 meters..  
  
3.5 meters...  
  
3 meters..  
  
Nearing radius of water control. The other man had a malicious grin on his face.  
  
And her three seconds started NOW!  
  
Berenger knew when he entered the radius of the other man's power. He felt his blood threatening to alter its course and run backwards. His head swam with dizziness and his battle axe slipped away from his slack fingers making a loud clang on the stone courtyard. But the momentum from his charge carried him closer and closer to the tip of the rapier now aimed at where his heart would be. His legs took another step forward purely from the force of acceleration alone and the disgusting doll tied on his belt lit up. Belle exhibited a laugh so diabolically insane that Berenger would have screamed if his whole sense of being was not so distorted by the blood running madly in his veins. The gaping red sash across the mouth seemed to move, and the water user was as equally mortified and horrifically fascinated at the same time. Both incredulously allowed a brief second to stare at the obscenity now convulsing on Berenger's belt surrounded in a globe of near invisible nen. Belle continued to cackle like an evil witch from the deepest depths of the subconscious mind and her black hair struck out with incredible force at the blue haired man before her like a rain of spikes.  
  
Berenger couldn't believe what was happening, and neither could his adversary. Dead adversary for that matter. A wire like strand of hair lashed out and wrapped itself around a slim neck and following another gleeful chuckle, it tightened and cut through skin, bone and flesh like a hot knife through butter.  
  
Blood few out from the new orifice and drenched Berenger's scarred face and front shirt before gracelessly toppling backwards, its limbs twitching spasmodically like a headless cockroach. As his enemy died, so did his nen. On regaining his strength, the first thing the Palace Guardian did was rip the horrific creature from his belt and with trembling arms and flung it far, far away from him.  
  
Belle sailed through the air and landed into the waiting, open arms of Karuto who remained as cool and impassive as usual. Except this time, she offered a small smile which, in other circumstances would have been cute, but in front of the defeated enemy, it was the self satisfied smile of an assassin with a job well done.  
  
Berenger's cell phone rang several times before he recovered himself from the shock of the experience and was able to receive the call. The South Gate was all quiet now, and one could only hear the distant rumble of the war being waged at the other Gates. On the other side was the sound of heavy artillery bombardment. It was then drowned out by the exhilarated laughter of a madman singing death and misery, followed by the sounds of explosions.  
  
"Hey Berenger - this is just a quick update. West Gate is secure - they're trying to roll in tanks, but nothing's going to get by me."  
  
"All right Misha. The South Gate battle is over. I'm going to reinforce the East Gate again. Take care."  
  
Misha didn't respond. He had already immersed himself in what he enjoyed best, what he lived for, what could prove his worth to the world. Gods he loved battle. 


	25. Chapter 23

Thank you all SOOOO much for the encouraging praises and reviews. I know this chapter came out a bit slow and doesn't really drive the plot on, yet it's almost there – the story is almost at an end and I've got the epilogue all figured out. There might be another chapter in a few more days, but until then, I hope you enjoy this short interlude.   


**Chapter 23**

Renard tried not to openly stare at Illumi. The young man's once large eyes were narrowed with concentration. Although dressed in the clothes of a maid, he had somehow shed himself of his effeminate graces and had transformed into a single-mindedly determined, ruthless and efficient man who was deep in thought. Though his eyes were blank, the intensity of his concentration was proof that a multitude of things were computing through his mind at dizzying speeds. There was an icy pride in his posture that the soft pastel pink and purple silks could not possibly hide. It was actually a familiar image. 

"You………remind me of someone." He said hesitantly, his smooth bass penetrating through the distant rumbles of the battle waged at the Gates. Now at the Dais near the throne room, all was eerily quiet and cautiously peaceful. 

"Oh?" 

Renard fought the slight tremble in his voice by coughing. "I had a brother, a very capable and talented brother in fact. Now that I look at you, it kind of reminds me of him." 

"How so?" 

Why had Illumi's voice become so dispassionate and detached? It was a carefully neutral voice, devoid of worries or pleasantries, hate or love, merely a voice responding to his questions. 

Renard closed his eyes, allowing himself a brief moment to drift back to his glorious days – his days as the first Kalinnan Emperor. He had overthrown the ailing and corrupted Wardien dynasty to establish what he hoped would be an empire to last a thousand years. But he was only a commander of men's hearts – not a General of war. The war between the Kalinnan and the Wardien families had in fact been won by his younger brother, a proud, confident and cavalier type of man who turned away from the chance to be king with the fully outrageous comment that "being Emperor was boring and a lot of pointless hard work". Yes, Cat's face frowned slightly, his brother was that type of person – too intelligent and powerful, always restless and latching onto each and new obsession with a ferocity comparable to a tiger. With a wave of the hand, he dared to defy tradition and grew his hair long, a shimmering thick black mane which reached his waist and often attended court with white powder and slight amounts of rouge applied to his face. He was always drinking, always chasing women, laughing at each scandal and indulged in the latest gossips. When his interests as Lord were threatened, he engaged himself in the politics and intrigues of court – and everyone trembled whenever his lips lifted, not in casual humor, but in malevolent planning and deceit and heads would inevitably roll for all those who dared to defy his chosen path. 

He supposed that perhaps he should have recognized Illumi as a splitting image of his brother sooner, but the young man had been different – he had been formerly trained as an emotionless assassin fated to walk the world on the perilous balance between life and death – neither living yet not fully dead, with one foot already firmly planted past the gates of Hell. His large dull eyes were distinctly different from the sparkling narrower eyes of his brother, brimming with contempt, arrogance, mockery and utter pride for everything around him because he had the intelligence to see through it all. His brother's voice was cutting and cruel at times, or otherwise just down right overconfident and condescending with the constant overtones of sarcasm. It could have been the voice of a great orator so filled with life and emotion, yet Illumi had, until the past few days, not been capable of emotion. 

The assassin was changing, Renard concluded. He feels the ultimate power dwelling within him, coursing through his veins this very minute, offering him the world and all its possibilities. He was arising, passing through the clouds to become a dragon who would soar above everyone and everything and look down on the world below. Gone will be the assassin's shell that he had cowered in for all these painful years, and from that cocoon will emerge a creature so magnificent and beautiful, one who would not to live by the rules or wishes of others. 

Just like his brother, dubbed the Black Stallion for he was indeed, a magnificent creature who could not be tamed or bound.   
  


* * *

  
Zeno arrived at the Dais and found the fallen and standing figures. 

"Where's Echlan?" he asked, and at the same time kneeling down to check that his grandson was still all right. Oh yes, he saw Alluka suddenly swell up to amazing heights and the old master assassin could only begin to wonder what sort of battle had occurred before. 

"The eunuch has gone to the North Gate fetch Karen." Cat quickly informed him. 

Zeno scowled. "That can't be right. I was at the North Gate just a while ago before Kamus told me to back you guys up. Karen was called away about half an hour ago to reinforce the East Gate!" 

"Please settle down. Echlan and Karen are already on their way back." Illumi stoically informed them. 

"You have powers similar to Alluka?" Renard inquired. 

Illumi closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "No, but through the nen all around us, I know what is going on, and there are whispers in the wind, everyone is trying to tell me something." 

How powerfully serene his voice had become. He spoke as if it were a beautiful spring morning where the sun was about to rise and the dew drops on the morning glories were winking gently at them all. 

"Illumi….are you all right?" Zeno looked worriedly at his eldest grandson's unreadable back and then looked to Renard for explanations. 

"Fear not Grandpa, I'm merely acting as a conduit for everything that is here. Through my body, they'll exercise a power unimaginable, as they had once done when they were alive. Or rather, I will carry out their will for them. Master Echlan and Karen-chan have arrived." 

When the two figures arrived to the Dais, Karen was the first to speak. The very lack of compassion and cruelty in her voice gave Renard the creeps. Had Echlan found Karen's evil twin instead? 

"I totally object to this task. I demand to be put back on the front line!" 

"Heal the Emperor, and we'll let you gut as many rebels as you can lay your bloody hands on afterwards, ok?!" the eunuch cried out in distress, pushing Karen towards the limp form of Rudy whose ghostly pale face and white lips might lead to the mistaken conclusion that she had already slipped away. 

Karen boredly glared at him. "I can't heal – you know that. Once I've started killing again, I can no longer work those miracles. The war has beckoned my soul – I feel like that the past year has been nothing but a hazy dream, its contents already quickly fading away, but now, I awaken, and now I am alive again. You will not take my delights away from me!" 

"You heart is crying." Illumi commented quietly, his eyes were downcast and unfocused, and he was vaguely staring at the ground. The stiff breeze around them had threatened to carry his words away before they could be heard. 

"Knock it off. It's reveling in the glory of what I am!" his cousin snarled. 

His voice remained solemn. "The war has awoken a terrible beast which lurks inside you. This is not who you want to be – you told me so yourself." 

She bared her fangs. "Well, reality can't always be as fancy as your dreams can it? You're the natural nen user – YOU heal the Emperor." 

Illumi finally tilted his head and turned to her. His expression was distant and aloof.   
"Do you dare…….to step into my Sanctuary?"   
He spread his arms as if he were opening up from an embrace. He took in a deep, long breath and projected the tranquility in his heart upon those around him. 

They all felt like that they had been struck with a blast of icy wind – but it was not uncomfortable. Instead, it carried with it a strange sort of fragrance, the saltiness of the ocean and the cool spray from its crashing waves. 

The vast spaces of stone courtyards and the magnificent Throne Room behind them all gradually faded away, replaced by a powerfully tranquil sky blue, boundless and endless in scope with not a cloud in the sky. They felt so small, so insignificant and helpless to the eternal stretch of water and sky around them. It was perspective – they were small and insignificant compared to the vastness of space and the world. What were their cares and troubles when they were but a speck in the never ending ocean of calm and tranquility? They felt their bodies gently rocking along with the lapping waves, a warmth like the sun embraced them with such wonderful heat. The small wind caused stray strands of hair to tickle at their faces but the air was so crisp, so overwhelmingly refreshing that perhaps they had all been granted a glimpse of the heavens. 

And the image and sensations faded as quickly as it had been made, leaving them all with a sense of hollow emptiness. They would do anything to taste such blissful calm again. 

Illumi's eyes were now transfixed onto his cousin who trembled beneath his gaze. 

"Who are you?" she whispered hoarsely, one lone tear escaping out the corner of her eye to slowly trickle down her dust and blood caked face. "And where did you take me just then?" 

"Just a place untouched and pure in our souls. It is our Sanctuary, a holy and sacred place where none but yourself may step. It existed when we were in our mothers' womb, and will be the last place we go to as we pass into the eternity of death. During our life time, we may have forgotten that our souls were capable of such purity, such whiteness, but no, it is not something which can be destroyed or   
lost. So the question is, who are you?" 

There was a short, quiet silence as she balked at the question and blinked rapidly. The pause seemed to last eternity before she uttered the words: 

"Karen Kalinnan Kastro….I am a doctor, and I heal the sick and injured – oh my GOSH!" 

As if woken up from yet another trance, Karen dropped to her knees beside the Emperor who had somehow been able to crack an eyelid open and had the strength to give her a grin, showing bloodied teeth. 

"Wel…..come ba….ck." Rudy croaked and choked on some blood as she tried to chuckle. 

"Forgive me sire!" she exclaimed in a shaky breath and wearing an expression of direst concern, her brilliant white aura flared brightly around her and shared the miracle with Rudy who had been so close to death's door only moments ago. 

Echlan's stomach finally unclenched and he was able to breathe again. Stains of pink gradually returned to the Emperor's gray and colourless face and her chest rose and fell with increasing firmness. Good signs, good signs indeed.   
  
Illumi watched, seemingly aloof as Karen's nen, a pure and brilliant white light, began to work its wonders and in his mind, he heard a triumphant laughter ringing proud and exuding confidence. He felt a presence trying to dominate and overwhelm his consciousness but he fought back with stubborn determination. 

You want to save the Emperor don't you? The voice sneered. There are strong people coming through the secret tunnels beneath the Forbidden Palace. Even you alone with your newly awakened strength may not be able to deal with. 

'And what do you suggest I do?' Illumi asked back with coldness equal to the strange voices' arrogance. 

Good boy! Good boy! You seem willing to learn, and I am willing to teach. Follow as I say.   


* * *

Liam led his most loyal and supportive troops through the twisting underground tunnels and escape corridors down in the deep earth beneath the Palace and felt his throat constricting. Under the dim and yellow musty lights provided by the torch and the claustrophobic pressure he was feeling from the enclosed space, he felt like a trapped animal. Dust and dirt would sometimes fall in clumps onto their tattered clothing after a particular shell or grenade exploded above them. At certain times, progress through the narrow tunnels was slow and the muted groanings of the earth and the rumbles and shakes of the ground beneath them struck icy fear into the very depths of their hearts. 

"Listen up men!" Liam pushed back his bottle yellowed coloured glasses to sit more firmly on his dust caked face. "We are VERY close to Throne Room now. The Emperor should be heavily guarded. I know full well that not many of us expect to live through this encounter, but think about what we came here for! We are here to rid the very essence of corruption and degradation left in Arcadia." He raised his voice. "We are here to end the Kalinnan dynasty and throw out the broken and despotic monarchy!" 

His men had fierce determination shining dully from their weary eyes. They were the dispossessed and disenchanted soldiers from the front line. Half of them never participated in the war themselves, but were the type of intellectuals in the intelligentsia who sat around theorizing more about morality of the Emperor's actions without accounting for practicalities and necessities. They had been anti-monarchists for the good length of their lives and would follow Liam to the ends of the earth to fulfil their dreams. The other half were the soldiers who had deserted from the army, either sickened by the military practices or fell to the grip of fear in the bloody midst of war and battle. They were now fugitives, wanted, and had no future. Liam promised them that the end of the Kalinnan dynasty would also release them of their crimes or wrongdoings. Since they had not future anyway, why not bring down the Emperor and in doing so create another chance for life? 

"Whatever happens, Rodimostev is our target. Forget about the guards, but avoid their attacks if you could." 

With a dirty sleeve, Liam wiped the perspiration from his forehead and swallowed. The pressure was steadily increasing with each step towards the heart of the Forbidden Palace. Everything was about to end, the exit could be seen, and Liam and his renegade group of soldiers was greeted by the soft and unnatural glow of the illuminators, and also the Dark Executioner himself. 

* * *

The maids clothing which Illumi had worn before were gone, replaced by flowing black robes which had grown from his former garments, his nen twisting and shaping his old clothes into a rich, black, and almost ancient fashion of gold embroidered sleeves and hems which lightly caressed the ground. Half of his hair had been pinned back and up into what Zeno thought was a rather strange cube shaped hat that he saw royalty and other court officials wore during the early days of the Kalinnan dynasty in pictures hung up in the vast museum. Wisps of dark, black nen continuously curled and lapped around Illumi's feet, giving the picture that he was some type of foul god who had just made his descent from the heavens and onto the mortal earth, the very ephemeral parts of the dark sky still clinging to him. 

"Jordan!" Renald remarked with part welcome and part unease. 

"No Cat – I'm still Illumi." 

"But….why are you…" 

"Dressed like him? Because he is a part of me right now, and together we will vanquish the enemy. Karen-chan, you stay well behind me and continue to work on Rudy and take care of Allu too ok?" 

Calm as Karen tried to be, she couldn't help but feel the few small hairs on the back of her hair raise at the completely different persona exhibited by her cousin. He now carried himself with the full airs of a prince and took up the mantle of what it is to be a natural nen user. His pose was now unsettlingly relaxed and at ease as if he were attending a Sunday picnic. If she could see his face, there might have been a cocky smile on his lips and his normally large and feline eyes playfully narrowed. Rudy likewise was curious, or that might be the wrong word to describe her solemn and rather serious observant gaze on the impassive back draped in a stunning black satin cloak. 

"Master Echlan, grandpa, the enemy is coming. Your task is to protect the Emperor and play defensive. I will deal out the damage." 

None of them really felt like arguing and merely nodded. Time for the fireworks to begin.   



	26. Chapter 24

****

Chapter 24

From the many numerous stone tiles stretched out almost endlessly before them in a sea of white grey, one of the slabs groaned, heaved, then was mercilessly thrown aside. About two hundred men with grim and hardened faces methodically swarmed up and in moments had circled the small group around the Dais. In silent synchronization, they leveled their guns at the same time, nozzles aimed at the half crouched and half sitting figure of Rudy. 

"Fools!" Illumi spat harshly noticing that each men had on their belts a small black machine emitting something akin to his Void. "You think this alone will be enough to defeat me? Then fall, back into the ravines and foul dungeons that spawned you."

In a split second, there were eight of him, each dressed in their glorious, rich black robes, with their hair tied up and a strange weapon in their hands. It was about eight foot long, dark, ebony black, slender but blunt, carved and etched with numerous runes. The weapon, though very unthreatening, sent chills of fear for its very darkness absorbed the very light given off by the illuminators around it. Laughing with exhilaration and armed, each double fanned out in all directions at unbelievable speed towards the rebels like a black tornado of death rushing out to meet its victims, a taste and savouring of delight on the tip of its tongue, an endless and almost indescribable joy in its eyes.

Zeno felt his stomach churn and knot in fear and sickness as the nen that usually flowed calmly about their feet was seized into a frenzied dance of bloodlust and killing following the strange, harsh sound which escaped Illumi's lips. The nen's usually smooth and placid texture became painful, randomly exploding in some places or violently crashing into each other before being sucked into a whirlpool of rage, reflecting the discord in Illumi's song. His voice was like that of a fallen Siren – destroying the fabric of illusion and twisting it into a hideous nightmare around them. And the unseeable chaos all around the rebels translated into fear, a type of fear so overwhelming that their minds had never registered before. Gravity was no longer a law of the universe – their sense of balance became as fickle as the constancy of the nen around them and the weaker ones had already been swept away by the tide, plucked from the ground like the golden maple leaves in autumn high, high into the air as they were caught in the vortex of nen, then flung with such vicious force back onto the ground without warning. Their bodies instantly broke and crumpled in the way one would imagine a child discarding a doll they no longer cared for. The song was steadily reaching its climax, in terms of volume and intensity. Even his voice had become a sound that was unearthly. The eight voices sang their own unique and awful tune, some high, some low, some screaming a sound that was unidentifiable and grated harshly against their eardrums. In response, the nen built itself into a violent and frenzied tidal wave behind Illumi, mounting higher and higher and like the tension in a bow string, it was only waiting to be released. If Rudy concentrated hard enough, she thought she could see people riding abreast the waves, clamouring their swords against their shields, and some shouting warcries in tongues she had never heard before. More and more they gathered, their anger collected and concentrated by the ungodly dreadful song that shaped their will and honed their rage into one massive assault. Suddenly, there was the ear splitting sound of a horse's neigh which rang like a thousand trumpets across the courtyard, and the tidal wave of nen noislessly broke through its invisible restraints and barriers. The sheer might and force of all the nen accumulated through the centuries smashed against the rebels, but they clung to each other and held their positions steady. Their small, translucent sphere of Void draped around them rapidly dimmed against the mighty onslaught, the small black machines strapped to their waist draining the batteries like crazy to deal with something of that monumental scale, and in moments, the contraptions cackled and sparked electricity before dying out. 

And like an unnatural, loathsome black plague, Illumi continued to weave and dance his way almost bewitchingly elegantly through the men in ghostly silence, his weapon falling up and down. Anyone touched by the black rod emitted the most agonizing scream. Alive they fell, twitching on the marble granite ground in what seemed to be a pain so terrible the mortal mind could not fathom. Some men were reduced to sobs with their hands digging in so hard into their scalps that blood poured down their hands and arms in streams. Others beat their heads against the ground, again and again, the thudding becoming an almost eerily hypnotic sound. Echlan felt its touch for the slightest moment and clamped his hand over his mouth to produce a scream that would throw his sanity away. The look in those mens eyes – they were all of those with no hope left in them, the type of men who looked upon the world with nothing to support them against the crushingly brutal reality, and one without hope lived in utter despair.

"Illumi is the Dark Executioner." Renard murmured sickly for his words contained neither delight nor praise. They were not the bright words of victory nor were there elements of triumph or joy in his voice. The horrible weapon in Illumi's hand was the agglomeration and gathering of despair that the boy had suffered all his life.

__

Oh the Despair! The Dark Executioner shall deal despair and they will fall.

The last of the prophecy was unraveling before his very eyes – he watched an assassin, born to the word of isolation and solitude, knowing nothing of love or laughter, life or its warmth, living only to take life away – it was the painful life of despair. And it was his greatest weapon for it was the emotion most well known to Illumi. He had lived with it for twenty years, and what didn't kill him would only hurt him and make him stronger. He materialized his concentration of despair from his heart into what they saw to be the elegantly crafted eight foot staff. With its merest touch, the rebels were robbed of their hope, mercilessly ripped out of them regardless of how they struggled to hold onto the pillar of will for existence. With this pillar shattered, they saw no future for themselves – their minds deceived them with images of failure and consequences so dreadful that they banged their heads on the ground in a vain attempt to rid their minds of these images. Even as their skulls fractured and blood poured into their eyes and blinded them, they continued to mutilate themselves, seized by the urge to rid themselves of their hopeless visions. Not long, the rebels turned their guns on themselves, dejectedly biting the barrel then pulling the trigger. Others clawing at their heads and rolling around kicking and screaming were put out of their misery by the stronger rebels still standing, just barely. 

About twenty men were left, huddled together around Liam, shaking and shivering, wondering why on earth of all places they were standing they had to be in front of the most powerful natural nen use of all eons. 

"Hmm…" Illumi hummed slightly to himself as the eight other apparitions of himself vanished, no longer needed in the sea of dead and crumpled men. "Roughly twenty still standing. I'll congratulate you on that, but no, that still doesn't mean you live. Instead, I'll grant you a quick, painless death instead. That is the least I could do for an enemy well fought." This phrase was said with the casualty of a man who was about to finish his day's work and pack up. There was a resigned look in his eyes, of one bored and carrying out some routine instruction. To the men about to die, they were nothing but mere a inconvenience to him. 

The runes on his weapon shimmered with amazing colours and his grip on the staff shifted. His right hand trailed towards one end of the staff and gripped it tight. Then with a twist, he gradually pulled the staff apart, unsheathing a brilliant blade of pure energy about seven feet long, slightly curved at the tip. Just how many men could you impale on such a long blade at one go?

Renard sucked in his breath at the sheer beauty of the weapon in Illumi's hands. He had no doubts that the edge could cut through anything – and that meant _anything_. The blade pulsed with its own soft light, like a beating heart, a living thing that dealt out quick and devastating destruction. With this sword, Jordan had conquered the Wardien dynasty. And with the same sword, Illumi was defeat the rebels and preserve the Kalinnan dynasty.

With a slight hiss, the blade sprang free from its sheath and Illumi allowed a brief moment for everyone to observe it with awe and wonder. A small, gentle smile bloomed on his lips and he gifted it to his enemies.

"I will send you back into the cycles of death and rebirth. Repent now so that you may be reborn as a human in your next lifetime, or spend the rest of eternity suffering in the infernos of hell." He uttered, then calmly, step by step, he advanced.

Liam was petrified when he saw Illumi. He had spent enough of his younger years in the Forbidden Palace to be familiar with old fashions and customs. The man he saw in front of him looked like he had just stepped out of the textbooks, dressed from head to toe in a style that had not been fashionable for at least six hundred years already. Yet he was an somberly handsome character, his long hair partly tied up, his dark robes gracefully titling with his movements, the gold embroidery against the very black material starkly sparkling and his pale face, so familiar, so, so painfully familiar. 

Even as death on two legs approached him a step at a time, he was unafraid. He felt only a warmth of recognition and welcome. To the outrage and objection of his men, he surged forward, broke free of the crowd and ran forward, only to stop just three meters away from the person who would take his life away.

"Kim?" his voice was thick with emotion.

Illumi shook his head. "You speak of my aunt. I hear she passed away some fourteen years ago."

"Your…your aunt?"

"They say I look quite alike her – at least Karen-chan thinks so."

"You are not Kim then?"

"I'm her nephew. Only a recent discovery really. Should I address you as my uncle in-law?"

"_Nephew?"_

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Aunt Kim also thought it would be amusing when you finally found out. In truth, I was hired by General Kamus Kalinnan Kastro to lure you out. Did a pretty good job huh?"

Liam started to feel reality hit him like a ton of bricks. His poor mind was wheezing to catch up with the thought process. 

"Hold on a minute here. You are a _man_ and YOU won the beauty contest?"

"Well," Illumi lowered his weapon and looked slightly apologetic "I have done quite a lot of questionable things apart from assassinations for money. Winning the contest wasn't hard, especially since I've apparently got the perfect Arcadian Princess features."

"I missed out on your final Court Dance that night," Liam said softly. "I don't suppose there's a chance I'll ever see it performed ever again?"

The blade's bright light almost blinded him, despite Liam wearing his shades. Illumi sighed a bit and hefted the weapon his hands, brining the sword up to Liam's neck, the blade biting delicately into the broken man's neck. Beads of blood blossomed. The truth had dealt him as much despair as he ever could with is weapon. "Unfortunately so – it was nice to have this conversation with you uncle Liam, but you have to die now. For Rudy of course." 

Illumi only needed to give a slight nudge to the handle and he would have decapitated the world weary and fatigued blonde haired main in front of him. However, fingers akin to steel clamps locked around his right wrist, and a harsh and distinctive "no" penetrated his thoughts. Vaguely tilting his head to his right, he found the Emperor, with her ghostly grey and pale face straining with effort beside him, her trembling fingers latched onto his writs like steel claws. Blood was smeared down the front of her goldern robes, now dried and a dirty, dark brown. Traces of blood was still smudged on her face and her eyes were so sunken that she looked like a living nightmare.

"I will handle this." She tried to say as firmly as possible but what came out was naught but a steady whisper, almost caught and carried away by the stiff breeze. The only life in her were possibly her slightly fever hazed eyes, tingling with hints of madness or just naked determination. 

Illumi never knew how crucial this moment was. In that time, he could have defied her will, eliminated the traitors and established himself as King of Arcadia. By rights – he was a man, and he was more powerful than Rudy could ever hope to be. In that instant, he could have changed and altered the entire course of Arcadia's future, all in the struggle of will between him and the Emperor that he did not even notice.

Perhaps there had been a highly strung moment in which he looked like he hesitated. But after that moment, he sheathed his sword and bowed exceedingly low.

"Yes sire." He affirmed. He extended one fragile looking slim hand to the Emperor, but she waved it away and tried to stand on her own. Her gaze was steadfastly fixed on the dirty and tattered blonde man.

"Liam Ustrad Melinkov – are you displeased with me?"

The leader of the rebels coldly regarded the teenager before him and hateful memories burned anew in his mind.

"Yes – yes, I am. You beheaded an entire nation's people, and you butchered the last royal family to secure your seat. I have seen enough corrupt and decrepit Emperors in my life time to know that Arcadia cannot live to see another day with you at its head. If you do not kill me now, you will regret that for life."

Rudy faltered slightly before she spoke. "You wouldn't by any chance have participated in the festivities all around you?"

"I can't say that I have. We were busy plotting your demise." Liam's voice grew steadily harsher. Illumi carefully watched his hands and his hand hovered very near his sword handle. 

Rudy slowly cleared her throat and looked back in authoritative defiance back at Liam – a look befitting her station. 

"People are in the streets celebrating. Can't you see the banners flying in the air, the vivid colours around you, sounds of children laughing and kissing the puppies in the dog pens or the spectacular gathering in the Arena or the Auditorium for the finals of the beauty pageant? The people are celebrating – they are happy to lead their own lives. Tomorrow, we were to mourn for the last time for all the dead who paid their blood and lives just so we could see today's sun. Just so we could continue to wave our banners, sell our goods, have lunch with friends Where were you in the country's greatest hour of need?" she looked over at the rest of the men, still huddled in the small group some distance off. Her face settled into a scowl. "Where were you all when towns burned and women and children were forced into institutionalized prostitution? What were you doing when the Capital was under siege and the enemy was only two miles from the Palace? What was going through your mind when your city was blasted to smithereens and all that you ever knew was lost, turned into rubble and dust? What would you have done if you were pitted against an enemy that gave no quarter or mercy?"

"A bloody murderer cannot find words to justify or excuse himself." Liam responded coldly.

"And I have no time to argue with a coward and a traitor." Rudy said severely. "War spares no one niceties. When you charge onto the battlefield, you can't negotiate or plead for peace, let alone your life. It was inescapable and unavoidable – and a real man would get the job done. That's the reality – it's the wall we must scale if we are ever to see our lives continue in its winding path before us. One of us had to do it," her voice trembled "one of us had to kill the enemy so that all that we know can be preserved." A tear trickled down her sunken, bloody cheeks and she visibly struggled to keep the waver from her voice. "One of us had to give the orders to men to die for their country; one of us had to sign the death warrants of ten million men for something called freedom; and one of us had to make sure we would never be invaded again to suffer the bitter consequences. Where were you, so strong and brave, to make these decisions for me? Where were you all to lend me your sword so that I didn't have to do the killing? Where were you to stop me when I sent the children of our enemy to clear the minefields? Where were you to make sure that a girl didn't remain to inherit the throne?

I'll tell you where you were – you deserted your posts and went underground – you didn't rise to the challenge when whole cities were engulfed in flames and it never disturbed you that your countrymen were dying by the hundreds of thousands in concentration camps. You were hiding safe in your secret cabins, plotting away, breathing life into your puny and insignificant ideals. Even before the war ended, you contrived to rob me of my rightful throne and worse still – some of you collaborated with the enemy. If I'm a butcher for protecting my kingdom, what does that make you?"

Liam's eyes suddenly widened and he abruptly turned to his men, some of whom were now attentively listening to the words of their Emperor.

"Cover your ears! This is a trick! She's using her Voice to bewitch you!" he shouted frantically. One of the men who resisted Rudy's words gave Liam a firm nod, and without a moment's delay had his gun trained on Rudy, his finger already applying pressure to the trigger.

And then the rebel's head blew up and his decapitated body collapsed like a felled tree, splurting blood onto the ground. On the rooftop three hundred meters away, Edmond Striker reloaded and took aim of the next rebel who seemed most likely to move. It was time for him to inherit his father's shoes and live and die in the name of the Emperor.

"Striker?!" Liam exclaimed incredulously, seeing the tinkle of the periscopic lens catching the harsh illuminator light. By the time he turned back, Rudy was already directly in front of him, her right hand flickering with a pale nen, her face set in fierce determination.

"Show me your soul." She commanded, and without further warning or a chance for him to put up his hands in defence, she pressed the palm of her hand to where his heart would be.

Liam's inner sanctum was a place of despair, lost hope and utter confusion. He hadn't wanted to surrender such a pathetic soul for a full and naked examination to nobody, not the Emperor, or himself. Rudy quietly gazed at the clashing colours fighting for dominance about her, ugly shades of red, foul yellow and brown. It showed the soul of a man who harboured intentions of suicide, a man who did not really care about his lofty principles or revolutionary ideals. 

He was just looking for a way to die, the finally be free from this miserable world, a world without light or hope, an existence without meaning or endurance.

And the source of such depravation? Fourteen years ago, a Princess by the name of Kimone Kalinnan Kastro self immolated, just about here near the Dias, and to Liam, it represented the signal of the end of everything that he had come to believe in. The charismatic and idealistic Kim succumbed to the pressures and practicalities of reality – or so everyone thought so – and in one brave act, defied the world and fate and ended her life before others could do it for her.

Liam didn't have that kind of courage. He felt a need for vengeance against the very institution that killed his love. He felt burning rage in his heart for the blood of the Kalinnan Emperor to flow. But as time wearily trudged along, his feet feeling heavier by the passing day as if iron shackles were clamped around his ankles, his dream of vengeance seemed so, so far away. The newly crowned Emperor Rodimostev II was like a burning sun, and he, only a weak candle flame. It was then he realized that vengeance was not possible. 

And deep down, he knew Rudy was right. They left the dirty job of mass executions and routing the enemy to a fourteen year old girl who grew up under the harsh realities of war, lonely and limping in pain, only that they were all too selfish to see it, caught up in their own pitiable tragedies to help. He left children to defend for themselves, and the final product was in part, his fault.

"No – I am who I am, not because of you, but because of necessity." Rudy finally saw Liam in the raging inferno, ringed by roaring geysers of lava and a constantly trembling earth. She tried not to let the his pure rage daunt her. She tried to meet his red blood-shot eyes calmly.

"I will be the dragon the rises above the clouds and the heavens will tremble when I roar. I chose this path the moment I decided to pick up a sword and fight. It became my burden when I urged others around me to fight. The dead will never cease to remind me of my debt to them – that they are dead so that I could live."

"Even Talien, the most rightful prince to the throne?" Liam whispered coldly.

At this moment, the rebel leader caught a glimpse of the age in Rudy's eyes. Her bright and youthful face showed him a girl who should have been in junior high, gossiping with her friends about boys, makeup and clothes. But her eyes had seen enough blood to last ten lifetimes already, and she had opened up herself to hundreds and thousands of souls, wandering into the hearts and minds of dying men, able to study their lives in the space of seconds. And here, she allowed him to penetrate her thoughts and memories, and Liam suddenly felt ashamed. She was willing to show him everything, every memory and thought, without hesitation or guarded suspicion whilst he had been trying to hide his own dark thoughts from everyone, even himself. 

__

"You must sign these, sire." Echlan's steady voice drifted almost ephemerally to Rudy's ears. She had dreaded this ever since they stormed the enemy's capital and planted the Arcadian flag in their soil. She had hoped that with all the matters concerning reconstruction of infrastructure and moving the refugees around the country, that this issue would be buried for another three years at least.

"What are those?" she tried to ask innocently.

"Prince Talien's death warrants, sire." Echlan said without a hint of waver or grief in his voice.

"No Echlan – I will not touch those."

"Sire, Prince Talien requested this himself. Please sign the death warrants."

"He has done nothing wrong during the war. He is a brave and loyal man, to his country and to the Throne. I find no reason to execute him."

Echlan stared severely at her. "You'll find plenty of reason to accept his death. You may shake the earth and heavens, but politics and succession can and will undo you. Can you imagine Arcadia embroiled in a civil war? More people will die – countrymen will fight against their own countrymen. Country sides will burn once again, and the people to suffer will once again be the defenceless civilians. Have you not seen enough of those ghastly images from the Decade long war?"

Rudy cringed at Echlan's words like they were hot burning brands being thrust in her face.

"I don't want to see anymore blood. I thought that after the war, we were supposed to live happily ever after in peaceful harmony. Give me my happy ending god damnit!"

The Master Eunuch slowly knelt down beside his seated Emperor and tightly held her hands in his. "No sire, this is only the real beginning. You won the war, but now you're left with a country – one that must never fall to corruption and decay again. You will spend the rest of your life building all that has been destroyed; you will spend the rest of your life conquering the hearts of your people; you will spend the rest of your life watching Arcadia rise from the ashes like the immortal phoenix, reborn again and soaring to even greater heights. You will spend the rest of your life maintaining peace and harmony – and that is why Prince Talien has asked for his death. So let him fulfil his last act of bravery and loyalty to this country and throne sire, please grant his wish."

"And when he dies, I will be truly alone with no family or relatives – then all questions of inheritance and succession will never be raised, nor will my right be challenged, nor will people go marching off to war on my behalf to maintain it." Rudy uttered mechanically, staring desolately at the parchment, its words making no sense to her.

"This is Prince Talien Kalinnan's wish. Let him die a patriot sire." Echlan urged. 

Rudy's arm seemed to move without connection to the protests in her mind, savagely quelled and killed by brutal reality. She picked up the pen on the table and ordered Prince Talien Kalinnan's entire household of 126 people to be executed the following morning. By the following morning, Rodimostev Alanis Kalinnan, once an unknown girl of little nobility named Idelia from Shandrakor, officially became Emperor Rodimostev Alanis Kalinnan II – with no surviving members of royalty to challenge her title. She had just turned fourteen.

Rudy gave a sad chuckle. " I was going to give my Pledge to the nation tomorrow. I finally sought out my questions and troubles. I have finally found a way to live with my burden. My people marched off to the battlefields of hell and faced death without fear because they wanted us to live. I will spend the rest of my life constructing and fashioning their last wishes. I will create a paradise for their children and their children's children to come. I will sacrifice the rest of my life towards the service of this country in repayment. This is my job – this is my unspoken promise when I asked my people to die on my behalf." She held onto Liam's hands just like Echlan had held onto hers, tightly and firmly.

"You are still alive Liam. You remember Princess Kim's dream – help me build it as she would have done. And should I prove unfit or unworthy of my position…" Rudy's grip around Liam's hands tightened even more. Her voice dipped low, fierce and harsh. "Then you may kill me, because I cannot fulfil my promise to the millions of dead. I give you that very right. I swear by the Device around my neck!"

Liam regained 'consciousness' with a violent shock and somewhat short for air. The young Emperor before him still had his hand in hers, along with the shimmering crystal – the Device which allows the Emperor to manipulate the nen around them – and he felt strange tinglings shoot up from his fingers, along his arm and through his body. The Device then dimmed, reverting back into its inconspicuous flat, circular piece of crystal, dangling limply around the Emperor's neck. With a sudden bond and understanding between them, they both collapsed, exhausted by the soul searching.

"Your leader has realized the error of his ways!" Illumi, still standing beside the fallen pair declared loudly in a voice which rang throughout the entire Forbidden Palace, carried by the nen and broadcasted through the streets of Arcadia Central. "You will throw down your weapons and raise your arms in surrender and by Emperor's decree, you will be spared. All those who reject the Emperor's offer of reconciliation can meet their own bloody demise!" 

All throughout the city, people clung to each other, tearstreaked and near hysterical, shouted with joy, and clapped and danced, rejoicing that the bloody attempted coup d'etat was finally over. Above their heads, the sky was filled with a formidable purr – the sound of the engines in the Sky Cruisers. Great searchlights stabbed through the darkness of the night and the civilians all swung their gaze upwards at the arrival of General Deathstalker's massive aerial fleet of Sky Cruisers – great leviathans of the sky, slow and majestic, powerful and potent, dominating the sky to set the Emperor's authority in stone. 

"Would you look at the size of those machines Gon! They'll replace the blimps in the future for sure!" Killua didn't bother to hide his amazement as the monstrously huge warships floated above him – a grand arrival indeed.

Gon emphatically nodded at his side. They were both cut, bloody and bruised – but the struggle was over, and they took the first opportunity to jump onto one of the rooftops to get a better view. He waved his arms and madly shouted to see if any of the pilots would notice them. 

Edmond Striker let out a gasp of relief, releasing his tensions and nerves upon hearing the declaration of the conclusion of battle. He gazed wearily into the sky filled with the Sky Cruisers and smiled, a weary yet satisfied smile. 

Back at the Dais, Zeno and Echlan both smiled warmly at each other.

"Am I allowed to collapse now? Because I've been forcing my legs to hold my weight for the last fifteen minutes, and frankly, I don't think they can last much longer." Zeno commented with a snicker. And truth was, he did collapse onto the ground, but a smile still on his face as he lived and witnessed something truly marvelous and spectacular that evening. 

Illumi slowly turned from Rudy and walked towards the first Kalinnan Emperor – Renard. Cat regarded the young man with as much pride and self mocking.

"It's always got to be you Jordan – you defeated the last Wardien king, and you come in at the last minute to save the Kalinnan dynasty. Will you now take my place after I diminish as the Guardian of the Kalinnan dynasty?" there was a touch of bitterness in Cat's voice as he held the handsome and formidable man before him in his weary gaze.

Illumi gave an arrogant laugh, full of contempt and mockery.

"Of course not brother. That would mean work – work, when I could be having fun, especially sweet talking the gorgeous Princess Kimone Kalinnan Kastro. And besides, you misunderstood the reason for my continued existence. I'm also here to repay my debts and make my apologies – I've already explained it all to Illumi, but you – " he turned abruptly to Echlan with cruel and dominating eyes. "I want you to take Hisoka to the Palace Library and dig out _Imrahldis' Legacy_ for him to read the first moment you are free. And that is an order."

Echlan bowed low and Jordan Romanov Kastro, self named Imrahldis (because it was so much more extravagant and exotic than boring old "Jordan") was never seen again, along with Cat. 

Illumi breathed in deeply. "Karen-chan – lets attend to Rudy and uncle Liam."

The doctor gave a bright nod, even though she was running on the last stores of her energy, and together, they carried the unconscious man and child back to sick bay.

From the North, East and West Gates, the Generals and Palace Guardian lowered their weapons and grinned so hard that it hurt. Renard Romanov Kalinnan's prophecy had been averted. The night was over – time to clean up the mess.


	27. Chapter 25

Author's notes: I just want to thank everyone for their patience and persistence for following this fic – especially to Yami and a whole heap of other guys at the HxH Fic mailing list who continually give me great reviews even though the grammar could be better or the typos fixed. This is the last chapter – and there will be one more epilogue to finally finish the story. I'm done folks! Finally done with a story at last! I hope everyone has had a great time reading J 

**Chapter 25**

Rudy awoke at exactly one o'clock that afternoon, on the soft mattress of the infirmary bed, her head resting on a well fluffed pillow. The wooden shutters were pulled back wide open, allowing her to gaze up at the wondrously calm and warm blue sky. A flock of birds flew by, gliding and soaring on the winds beneath their feathered wings. How grand the view must be from up above, Rudy thought with a resigned sigh. With much effort, she heaved herself into a sitting position to peer out the window and feel the breeze caress and kiss her cheeks and strain her ears to catch the sounds of activity from the palace grounds. 

Down below, people frantically scuttled back and forth with bricks and mortar, stones and long wooden beams and pillars whilst several cranes of rather small stature were busy digging up the rubble onto the backs of trucks to be shipped off. Rudy vaguely noticed that the place was devoid of the dead bodies, meaning she was fortunate to have woken late enough to miss that gruesome task. 

"Ah! Sire, you are awake!" she heard the chorus of relieved and cheerful voices behind her and smiled wanly at the ground of Imperial Doctors, headed by Faust himself. They immediately went down on one knee in greeting and intoned the correct and formal words. 

"I take it that my Pledge will have to wait until about next week, given the damage done to the Forbidden Palace?" she asked immediately. Faust quickly stood up and dusted himself. 

"Unfortunately so, sire, but it just gives the people another excuse to extend their holidays." 

Rudy's eyes drooped slightly. "What is there to celebrate? Tell me, how many people died on the streets last night when the Nihilists unleashed their madness machine?" 

Faust elegantly cleared his throat. "Surprisingly few sire. Many thanks to the Guardian's prophecy, civilian casualties were much less than expected as we were prepared to restrain the mad ones rather than to kill. However, that means the damage to the city was quite…well, substantial. I'm sure General Kamus will give you a much more detailed and thorough report." 

The Emperor laughed. "A city can be rebuilt. You cannot bring back the dead. That's all that matters. Well then, with that piece of news aside, anything else I should know now or do I wet my pants later?" 

All the doctors chuckled in good humor at the joke and Faust cleared his throat again. 

"The other most pressing information is that Illumi-san has gone. He disappeared whilst everyone was busy looking for their family members or cleaning out the courtyards. The Forbidden Palace currently has more than one thousand people working to rebuild the damaged rooms, so no one noticed when Illumi-san made his departure. Of course, in his room, Karen-chan found several items, all neatly named. There is a gift for you." 

"A gift?" Rudy turned back out to the window and gazed up at the sky one last time – the way she and Illumi had briefly done whilst they sat atop the roof of the Throne Room, then recalled her mixed feelings towards his newly discovered self last night and felt pangs of regret. She regretted that he had to leave – because of the challenge he posed by merely being here, a natural nen user with royal lineage – and she regretted that she now had to be alone again. She felt a part of her soul dying off, passing away as yet again, another spark in her life diminished, never to be return. But that was the fate of the Emperor of course – Emperors could have no friends because one day, fate and destiny would stir their sticky fingers and tear the best of friends apart. Best to end whatever they might have had now before either of them were seriously hurt. That was the fate of all Emperors, alone for all eternity with nothing to sustain them except their burning passion to serve the country. In return, an Emperor only asked to be loved by their people, to be hailed as a good Emperor and that they would nicely remember her in their history books. That was her fate. That is what she chose and so set was her course that to struggle and deny the path was unthinkable. 

She was crying, again. She was such a big baby. No more tears – she told herself – no more tears. Quickly rubbing her eyes, she turned back to the doctors and forced a smile. 

"I'll receive it now. Where is it?" 

"There were instructions – that the gift was not to be opened until after your Pledge sire." Faust bowed low, knowing that his announcement of Illumi's departure had upset his master. It was the best apology he could make. 

"Very well. I'm going to inspect the reconstruction of certain parts of the Palace – as well as conduct a tour around the city later this afternoon. Where are my robes?" 

"Oh no!" one of the other imperial doctors spoke up immediately with tones of franticness. "Sire, you must have some more rest and food. We recommend that you rest until tomorrow morning at least. The Device hurt a lot of places inside you body – please have regard to your health sire." They all knelt down again, well informed of her natural stubbornness and general disregard for the limitations imposed by her mortal body. Given her physical condition, it was a good sign that she was awake already. Had Karen been a few minutes later, it was uncertain whether the Emperor would recover from the coma at all – but even as the young woman arrived beside the body of her fallen lord, Rudy was still barely conscious, listening to the whisperings in the wind, feeling the vibrations of battle from the ground. Rudy was determined to be strong the day she led the defence at Shandrakor five years ago, but sometimes, one just had to admit and accept one's weakness in order to recognize and play out one's strengths even more. 

_No more big baby –no more tantrums, no more crying_ Rudy steadily thought to herself. _You will do as you are told and you will not scream or yell at anyone._ Giving another nod, she hoped back into bed and pulled the covers up to her chest and made it abundantly clear that she was not going to leave the bed. 

"So, where's my lunch then?" she beamed, looking expectantly at them all. 

Faust would have rushed up to engulf her in a suffocating embrace for all the pride he felt for his Emperor, but because she was his Emperor, he kept his hands strictly to himself and simply responded in a voice thick with emotion: " Coming right away, sire."   


* * *

Kamus stared steadily at the man seated opposite him on the long mahogany table, torn wondering if his Emperor had been mad and the relief that he didn't have to kill the man. 

"I'll have you assigned to work under me so that I can constantly keep an eye on you. You realize that you won't be trusted for a substantial time and that many people will be angry and even violent towards you." He began slowly. 

"But you will have your uses. You were one of the best administrators of the generation – we could find several municipalities for you to govern. That will be sometime in the near future. Until then, you will be my second in command." 

Liam, dressed in his new uniform of jet black and silver, seated stiffly and awkwardly in his chair nodded attentively. He studied the man across him – Kamus Kalinnan Kastro – the General who defended the North Gate had grown another handful of premature white hairs from the previous night, and it starkly showed against Kamus' still healthy and dark hair. If the man was tired, he didn't show it. Obviously used to it, Liam thought grimly, especially during those long strategy discussions during the war and overseeing operations where all the Generals would work for days on end without rest. 

"Our first task is to assess and record the damage done to the Palace and City. I will be personally in charge of the Palace. You will take my second Lieutenant and survey the city. Start with the public buildings – hospitals, schools, fire stations, police stations and other governmental agency buildings first. Then dispatch people to help you record other damage down to other public property – I fear the national park will have to be re-planted. You will compile a detailed list of lamp posts and electricity lines which have been disrupted and names of roads which will need to be re-paved. Proceed thus, then document the number of personal homes destroyed or vandalized, track down any insurance companies who have to pay out and we'll see if the state has to offer what assistance it may give for the other houses." 

"Yes General." Liam intoned. He still silently marveled in his mind at the sharp change of events, and the fact that he was still alive, and would, in five minutes time, be out on the streets recording down every scrap of damage that he had intermediately contributed to. Kamus was right – people on the streets would see him as the ex-rebel leader, the one who had crashed their wonderful party last night and left half the city in smoking ruins, not to mention the sacred and beloved Forbidden Palace, the home to the Emperor whom they revered to certain degrees of zealousness. In the infirmary, whilst he was getting changed into his new uniform, a boy around seventeen, with a highly unfashionable bowl haircut and an overly large nose, approached him with a solemn expression on his freckled face. 

"Edmond Striker." He acknowledged briefly, then concentrated on slipping the buttons into their corresponding holes. 

The boy was hesitant. He had met the man before him on a previous occasion – and that dark occasion was to plan and plot the assassination of the Emperor. Now, the same man sat before him, dressed in the very same uniform as the rest of the Arcadian soldiers with a resigned air clinging like a heavy burden about his broad and powerful shoulders. Liam was an impressive man – a well spoken, charismatic and smart man who knew what his strengths were. An impressive and powerful man, bought down from his lofty perch of leader of the rebellion by a fourteen year old girl and her few words. Edmond wanted to confront Liam when he heard Illumi declare that Liam had recognized the error of his ways. He wanted to justify to the man why he had withdrawn from their plans at the last minute. But suddenly, he didn't know what to say – to a man more than twice his age, who had seen a lifetime of bitterness and spent half of it in a futile, bloody and savage struggle. A man who now seemed content to be told what to do – he had none of the former magnetism which inspired and attracted Edmond to him in the first place. His throat constricted. 

"The Emperor…is a good person." He mutely groaned at his own lame statement, but seriously, what could he say that Liam hadn't already experienced or heard in his lifetime already? He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried again, determined to hold the gaze of the man who now returned his stare with a look that was mingled partly with curiosity and partly in somber patience. 

"The Emperor doesn't take us for granted. She really wants to do what is best for us. She really does. The Emperor came to my house the other day – " 

Liam suddenly looked alarmed. "So they had known of our plans back then already?" 

"No no!" the teenager quickly said. "The Emperor came around with Miss Arammi the other day to return some of my father's items and a note he had written to my mother during the war." 

The blond man's flat gaze prompted him to continue. Edmond swallowed again. 

"Would you be surprised to know that my father was an assassin – almost a rival to the Zoldick family business? He couldn't care less about some city five hundred miles away that was burning to the ground, nor would he have raised a hand to help defend a bunch of weaklings. I thought he was a fool to go off to war and abandon his own family and children to die for someone who he didn't know. I was angry at the Emperor for taking my father away from me – so angry, that I willingly participated in your plans." 

Edmond tried to restrain his trembling and shaking to a bare minimum, but he had to say it. For a brief moment during the bloody insurrection, he felt and understood what his father had gone through. 

"Duty, honour, and glory Liam – that's what we all live and die for. When we die, there is nothing that we can take with us, except such wondrous memories and experiences. The Emperor offered her army honour and glory, a chance to be remembered and cherished. It takes courage damnit, not foolishness, to carry the heavy mantle of duty. Not everyone can have this prize, Liam – you have to earn it with your life! As was my father – who died for a man I never met until last night, commanding the battalion of Sky Cruisers above the city – General Deathstalker. And do you know what my father felt was his duty and greatest honour and glory that he would willingly give his life for?" 

Liam absorbed every passionate word the boy had to say, and he was speechless. He dumbly shook his head and tried to keep his eyes dry. 

"His duty was towards his family – and his honour and greatest glory was to be a part of the greater victory – so that my mother and sister, who's only seven – could experience such simple pleasures as tying satin ribbons in her hair and then running out of the house to show them off to her friends at the park. And the Emperor will not forget my father for creating another small miracle of happiness in Greater Arcadia. Now do you see why I had to turn away from your plans? If you were successful, I would have killed the person my father most trusted and respected, and I would have killed and destroyed whatever he had paid his life for." 

Hot tears stung his eyes and Edmond couldn't give a damn whether Liam saw it or not. He ploughed on to the last phrase. 

"And if ever I find that you still entertain ideas of disposing King Rodimostev Alanis Kalinnan III, so help me god, I will track you down to the ends of the earth, and when I find you, you will scream for a long time." 

Liam looked at him for some time, then with a sigh, he heaved himself off the bed. He patted Edmond's shoulder and nodded stiffly, unable and unwilling to meet the youth's fiery passion in his eyes which he once had, but had long ago been extinguished by unbearable grief. 

"Good. Make sure you kill me before I can ever hurt the Emperor. I charge you with that task." 

And with that, he hurriedly strode out of the infirmary to find Kamus. Apparently, the other man had finished giving his commands and Liam's own feet, unbeknownst to him, had already guided him to the door. General Kamus hand was about to reach the door knob but he hesitated. He withdrew his hand and wondered what he should do. 

"Gah! To hell with the formalities – welcome back!" he cried out loud and pulled the stunned blond haired man into a rough embrace. 

"Damn you man – have you ever thought how painful it would have been for me to hunt down and kill the man whom my sister most loved? Did you ever care how I felt all these years ever since you declared yourself to be a rebel?" 

"Sorry Kamus, I really am." Liam softly replied, returning the man's hug. His words were sincere and genuine. 

"To hell with the apologies. To hell with everything. It's so good to have you back – " 

The door abruptly swung open and Misha loudly barged in with heavy strides, every action communicating his casual disregard for all authority or common courtesies such as knocking. His lean and gaunt face had been scrubbed free of every bit of blood and grime that had accumulated through the night, his short hair had been thoroughly washed as well. His coat was clean and spotless, an immaculate black with electric purple lining to accentuate the flambouyancy and general deviancy of his character and around his neck dangled a polished, five pointed star attached to a black velvet choker. He slapped his hand against his forehead, covered his eyes and groaned loudly in disgust. 

"Errgh – two big men hugging and crying in broad daylight!? I've entered the wrong dimension or something!" he exclaimed aghast and stepped back out as quickly and abruptly as he had strode in, but Kamus hastily lashed out and firmly held the door open. He looked almost sardonically at the mad General. 

"Cut me some slack and room for sentimentality. Unlike you Misha, I happen to have friends." He slung his arm around Liam's shoulder in a brotherly fashion and they all laughed full heartedly in good nature. The younger General of the three regarded Liam with an enigmatic and mysterious look of lunacy in his eyes. 

"So you're Liam." He began in a most intimidating manner. His dark black eyes trailed slowly up and down the man. Liam gulped and involuntarily took a step back. The eyes alone made him feel like he had been subject to a fully personal body inspection, naked and vulnerable before the unstable and unpredictable man before him. 

"I never got to fight you." He said in a rather accusatory manner. "Perhaps we could get together sometime and – " 

Kamus quickly pushed and shoved Misha out of the doorway and ushered Liam out as well before the provocation could be fully uttered by the irresponsible young man. Liam stood aside and patiently, quietly waited whilst he watched the strange banter and scuffling between the two men just some short distance off. 

"Could you keep your trap shut for now?!" Kamus hissed, physically having to pull Misha back. The mad general let out a soft growl. His voice began to adopt a rather hysterical and urgent tone. 

"Let go of me damnit. I want to have a piece of him! I didn't get to see any real action last night. _You guys_ all got to fight the elite soldiers – I got the useless trash with guns! Guns against a nen user?! Leggo! Leggo!" 

"Urgh Misha! Would you get a grip on your insanity? Listen to me – oh this is pointless!" Kamus rolled his eyes in exasperation and turned around to Liam, Misha still firmly under his control but struggling madly against them. "You get going with your task and find my second ok? I've got to…OW!!" 

Kamus let out a bark of pain and pulled back his hand as if he had been scalded with boiling water. He looked down in horror and astonishment at the teeth marks and blood flowing freely from the wound on his hand. "You bit me!" he roared incredulously at the giggling madman who then launched a kick to Kamus' midriff then quick like a purple streak of lightening, he raced past him to Liam and punched the blonde man squarely in the jaw sending Liam back at least a couple of paces. Kamus by now had completely lost his cool – he had not only been bitten, but also kicked whilst he was defenceless and the man who had committed the acts was laughing deliriously, adding insult to his injuries. 

"MISHA!!" he roared with rage after the fleeing man whose black coat tails billowed dramatically behind him. 

"Well, why are you standing there Liam?! Help me catch that crazy bastard!" Kamus shouted, then without waiting took off after the mad General. Stunned, for the third time that day, he nodded and followed. 

Rudy heard a familiar, outrageous laughter devoid of sanity float up through her window to reach her ears. Peering cautiously out the window, leaning on her wooden ledge, she spied General Misha – the youngest general out of the ten – madly racing past the infirmary with two older men not far behind, arms frantically waving, shouting out obscenities and threats.   


* * *

  


"Hisoka," Koran shifted his crouch so that he was closer to the other man. "you do realize that we are supposed to be in the infirmary resting. We ARE injured you know." 

"Keep you voice down!" the other man sharply hissed, but also shifted so that both of them were now squatting beside each other in the pitch black darkness. In an almost barely audible whisper, he continued, "We can't let _him_ know that we are here. Now, how long has it been since we last did this." 

Koran's voice was reprimanding and slightly cutting. "We were nine! Don't you ever grow up? You are twenty seven now – twenty seven! Gods – why do I let you persuade me to do such stupid things again?" 

"Pass over that container please. Ah, why thank you Koran." There was the sound of paper cracking, a slight tear and then a series of gulping noises. "Here, this one is simply superb. A sip of this, and you'll remember why you let me persuade you." 

This was followed by more sounds of swallowing and the breaking of several other paper seals. Not long after, both men were giggling softly between themselves and drinking out of large, ceramic urns, relishing on the spicy sweetness of the liquor inside, concealed and artfully hidden by the darkness around them. 

That was until the door to the wine cellar was flung open with the full force of Master Echlan's nen behind it and sunlight spilled in like white molten liquid, forcibly ripping the cover of darkness from their clutches. Momentarily blinded and only hearing the Master Eunuch's enraged roar, both men screamed like girls in fear. 

"Ah-ha! I KNEW you would be in here!" Echlan bellowed with uncompromising determination to punish them. 

"Run for it!" they both screamed at each other, kicking over the jugs and ran further into the dark cellar to try to hide behind the larger breweries. But the last they saw, before they got very far, was the delicate but deadly pink silks of the Master Eunuch wrap mercilessly around them from head to toe.   
  
  
  


"Back on whale island, we had really pretty bee-butterflies – they had the sting of bees but the bodies of butterflies, and emerged from their cocoons during the warmer months of July." 

"Oh really? Pretty creatures did you say? But doesn't that mean that they are very vulnerable in their cocoons?" 

Gon shook his head, but like Killua, his eyes never left the subject matter, strung up high above on the beams. 

"No – they were concealed quite conspicuously so you actually had to be looking for them if you wanted to see one. These however…" 

"Look more like a showpiece – hey Gon, I think we ARE meant to see them." 

Gon frowned and hummed a bit. "I think you are right. I mean, observe the bright and vivid colours of their cocoons – pink! I don't think that would camouflage that nicely in the wild. In fact, I have reason to believe that they would be pretty susceptible." 

"OH FOR GODS SAKES! WOULD YOU KIDS STOP GAWKING AND GET US DOWN!" Hisoka shrilly screamed, fighting in vain against his bonds which had him and Koran suspended from the highest beam in one of the untouched and undamaged rooms in the Forbidden Palace. The silk was actually delicate material, a flimsy stretch of gauze that was usually sewn on the top of the main body of clothing to give the ethereal and floating effect. However, since Echlan had reinforced them with his nen, and inscribed a few nen-restricting runes on the insides of the silk, they were, in short, totally hopeless and unable to break free. Koran had long ago resigned himself to his fate and now dozed lightly, enjoying the sensations of rocking back and forth. His friend on the other hand, was most uncomfortable with the two children staring wide eyed at him and discussing about some insect on some remote island. 

Killua chuckled wickedly. "I don't think so Hisoka. If Master Echlan put you up there, he would have a legitimate reason, and frankly, I am not going to develop the habit of questioning his reasoning." 

"Then go discuss your bee-butterflies somewhere else!" the magician screeched, clearly in a foul mood. 

"Killua – Hisoka's helpless right now, isn't he?" Gon asked. 

"I suppose he is. If his nen wasn't being cut off, he would have discarded those silks by now. Why?" 

Gon produced from his pocket a small, cylindrical object. 

"No, you see, it's just that I have this black texta…" 

"KORAN! Snap out of it! They are going to deface us!" Hisoka's struggles renewed with twice as much effort. Koran merely continued swinging rocking back and forth like a bird perched on a mildly waving branch in the stiff breeze on a warm summers day. Nothing could break the overpowering peace that he had forcibly pulled over his head. He found that if he was to live longer without the threat of high blood pressure, he might as well get used to being humiliated. And besides – it was all Hisoka's fault – so if the kids held a grudge towards the man, let them deface him, he was happily rocking back and forth, back and forth. So like the good, helpful best friend that he was, he gave his friend the most practical piece of advice. 

"Hush Hisoka, hush." He said rather dreamily, a small, self satisfied and content smile on his face. 

Hisoka never realized that he would feel so grateful to see the Master Eunuch energetically stride into the room and chase the two children away with his mere presence alone. A large, black book was under one arm, but a harsh and penetrating glare on his face. 

"I would punish you some more, but reluctant as I am to let you down, I am acting under far superior orders than my petty urges to deal retribution." He made a few gestures in the air with his free hand, and the silks automatically loosened, releasing their prey from their deadly embrace. Hisoka and Koran both landed gracefully on their feet. Without another word, Echlan led them back to another room with tables and chair set. They all took their seat, and the Master Eunuch carefully laid the book on the table. 

"Here it is – _Imrahldis' Legacy_. I didn't realize that it was written by the First Emperor's brother." Echlan commented, gently blowing the dust off the ebony cover. Gold lining of the book immediately shone through, its sheen not dulled through the centuries. 

Hisoka was sitting in the brightest corner of the building where the large window allowed as much sunshine to spill its warmth and light onto the table. Koran sat beside him, equally fascinated by the book and wondered why his mentor had been ordered to retrieve the book for him with such urgency when he should have been attending to the Emperor. 

"You didn't meet Prince Jordan last night – he is or was a most formidable and unfathomable man. Before he departed, I was instructed to bring this book to your attention Hisoka. What its contents are I am unfamiliar with, so, will you now do us the honours?" 

The cold knot in his stomach was becoming increasingly discomforting. The book alone seemed to be whispering a thousand things to him all at once and he had difficulty picking out the individual voices to understand what they were trying to say to him. There was overwhelming knowledge of some sort stored in the book, and the sheer intensity of what it represented shook Hisoka to the very bones. But still, he reached out and flipped open the cover, then in a slow voice free from the shaking and tremors he felt, he began to read out loud. 

"Prologue – to whom it may concern: You are currently reading the own words of Jordan Romanov Kalinnan – but call me Imrahldis. I do like that name so much better. If you are reading this book, then it's because you are looking for answers – answers to your miserable life, which I must confess, I had an indirect hand in." 

Echlan, seated opposite them, pursed his lips in thought and Koran just looked plain puzzled. He urged Hisoka to keep reading. 

"You should know a bit about me first – I am the founder of the Kalinnan dynasty. I'm sure my gracious brother has taken all the credit – but that does not bother me. I overthrew the Wardien dynasty, because I can, and because I wanted everyone else to know that I could." 

"Wonderful man isn't he?" Koran noted dryly, clearly not impressed. 

"Hush – continue Hisoka-chan." 

"If you turn the pages, you will be presented with a recollection of the day in which the last Wardien King was finally dethroned, and it will in part, provide an answer to the life you have led so far. If you are reading my words, then you must have been directed by me – because only two people should ever lay their eyes on these words. True, I was the most powerful man to have ever graced the Kalinnan family and as much as I can say, I never regretted a thing that I did, nor did I ever suffer a moment of insecurity. I can look at this world with arrogance and pride, mockery and judgement, because I have fully conquered it. 

But there was one event in my life which I cannot fully account for, nor did I have full control over – and here, I commit such a blemish in my life to paper. Turn the page, if you dare, and find out the truth about your life." 

"Make contact with the book Hisoka," Echlan calmly intoned. "I think your hatsu will activate what memories his majesty may have recorded in here. It is not an uncommon method of information storage." 

Hisoka looked at both of them strangely, an unknown and never seen before intensity in his eyes. Just then, Koran realized that in his brief reunion with his childhood friend, he had never really got to ask Hisoka just how his life had been since he let the Forbidden Palace or on the occasion that he did ask, Hisoka always found a convenient way to change the subject. He had no idea – and this book was going to tell him now – a book written almost a millennia ago. 

Hisoka's nen flowed over the book, and almost painfully, an image formed in their minds. 

_"Ch…" Jordan grunted, struggling to retain his balance in his mighty and impressive folds of his black robes. Echlan recognized the weapon in the young man's hand – the elegantly shaped weapon of despair, a powerfully destructive weapon with deceptive appearances. Around him lay mountains of rubble and debris, dust and blood soaked ground littered and heaped with bodies of the dead. For what seemed to be miles on end, there was not a soul in sight, the courtyards lay in ghostly silence, the Forbidden Palace completely emptied and abandoned (or dead), saved for the combatants who remained._

_Jordan swept his weapon in a big arc in front of him, sending out torrents of wind, so fast and sharp that it cut through the very earth, leaving great and tearing rents in the ground throwing up all bricks, stone, mortar and bodies caught in his path and hit its target with a sickeningly wet sucking sound._

_The last Wardien King was an daunting man – well built, slightly stocky, but had enough muscle and strength to scare off most foes with a deadly glare alone. His once expensive and finely cut robes had been torn and shredded in many places, and blood was seeping from a particularly nasty wound on his side._

_Then another man appeared, a man, tall, lithely muscular, with a crop of plain brown hair slickly brushed back and dressed in simple, plain coloured clothes. His skin was a pale ivory, and his face was lean and gaunt. A narrow pair of ice blue eyes dominated his features and the very chill in his look could burn skin. In his hands however, was a sword with a curved tip – the blade was a dull grey, made of strange metal that glowed unnaturally brightly when it came in contact with blood. His name was Haldier – a vagabound, a wanderer, a man of high martial arts skill, journeying the earth with no master, obeying no one's will or law. He fought here, against the last Wardien King, only because the king had become corrupted and he had seen enough suffering around him in his travels to know that the life was rapidly seeping out of the Wardien Dynasty. And he would deal the last blow for all the innocent, hapless people who unnecessarily died due to the corruption that ran rife in the bureaucracy during the last years of the Wardien Dynasty. Without hesitation or pity, his blade rose and fell, biting through flesh, muscle and bone._

_The King awkwardly retreated, receiving a mortal wound but he would not his enemies the satisfaction of his cry of pain. He fell onto his backside and sat unnaturally still, feeling blood start to seep into his lungs. In minutes, he would drown in his own blood and he gazed in hate at the two devils and monsters before him. One was dressed fancily, like the wealthy son and himself a scholar, but obviously not so. His image was not unfamiliar for he was the General who led the people's rebellion against him who sat at the head of all armies on his black stallion, proud and confident. The other was a man who gazed at him steadily, to make sure that he was going to die – a harsh, cruel and unforgiving man._

_"Shall I do the honours, stranger?" Prince Jordan coyly asked, striding forward with an easy pace and an easy and casual demeanor about him. Even as he was about to personally deal out the collapse of the Wardien dynasty around him, he was still cool, not flustered, unaffected by the weight of the circumstances that would have crushed and procrastinated a lesser man._

_The king gave them a nasty smile, showing bloody teeth._

_"Don't think you will live happily ever after boys. By this Device," he held up the circular crystal in his fisted hand, bright, white light steadily seeping from his bloodied and dirtied fingers. He coughed blood violently, but was determined to finish his speech._

_"By this Device, I damn your next lives to…to a private hell, the same hell you created for me at the end of my life, a life… of despair and loneliness…a life where you will have nothing, own nothing – "_

_Both Jordan and Haldier's blades pierced through the King's eyes, but the damage had been done. They felt something touch their souls briefly, a kind of weight which briefly tied them down, then fluttered off into the endless distance._

_Jordan scowled harshly, kicking the dead man's corpse to vent out his frustration._

_"Damn my next life will you?" he vehemently growled, but savagely refrained from further acts of outrage. He stood back calmly, thinking, his brilliant, sharp and incisive mind already producing ways to overcome the curse._

_"What is your name, stranger?" he asked._

_"Haldier – no one in particular." The other man studied him with cautious scrutiny._

_"And you may call me Imrahldis, although my official name is Jodan Romanov Kalinnan. I'm Renard's quite capable brother."_

_The other man nodded. Jordan was slightly disappointed that the man displayed no other visible reaction or at least a look of awe but went ahead._

_"You heard what that man just said – he damned our next lives to utter solitude and isolation."_

_"A private hell indeed. You think you can prevent this?"_

_Jordan laughed out loud with haughtiness and a great mocking for the world that tried to pull his strings. He quelled his laughter, and his voice was harshly strained. "Of course I do – I always do." He went forward and picked up the bloody pendant from the dead man's fingers and almost sneered at it as it lay so innocently in his left palm. He bit his right index finger savagely until it bled freely. He gestured for Haldier to do the same._

_"We overcome the curse by swearing a pact and seal it with our blood. Haldier, would you care to spend your next life with me, forever, a life long partner to overcome the curse that has befallen us on this day?"_

_The man quietly studied the Device in Jordan's left hand and thought about it. "You mean to say that we use the same Device, and make another pledge – that we will meet and become friends in our next life so that we can overcome and break free from the lifelong despair and loneliness just cursed upon us."_

_Jordan gave a firm nod. Haldier crisply clicked his fingers._

_"Accepted."_

_And so with their bloody hand, they clasped the device between their palms and swore._

_"I, Jordan Romanov Kalinnan/Haldier pledge, by my blood, to become blood brothers in this life and to let this bond continue onto our next life – tied by this blood oath forever – to meet again in our next life and relive this link – now and forever."_

_And the Device flared so brightly that both had to squint their eyes shut and turn away. It was a while before they dared to open their eyes, fearing that they would be blinded by the brilliant white light. By that time however, the Device was just another blood tainted pendant. Imrahldis let out a careful sigh whilst Haldier chuckled, bending over to pick up his sword and return it to its rightful sheath on his back. He gave a chuckle._

_"Well, that's that. I got to kill a king to day, be cursed and damned in my next life, and become blood brothers with the great and cunning Imrahldis himself. Just another day's work. I'll be seeing you then – best to put some distance between now since we'll be spending all of our next life together."_

_Haldier just turned a left, in the most un-dramatic and anti-climatic fashion that you could think of. Jordan watched the fading figure with some amusement at the days events and conceded that it was just all in a day's work. He laughed aloud again – he felt that he had cheated fate over and over, and today was just another weak attempt to control him. His exhilarated laugh rang throughout the ruins of the Forbidden Palace, loud, clear and victorious. Another speck in the horizon gradually grew in size – a soldier was riding forth to meet him._

_"Your majesty, is the Wardien King dead?"_

_"Yes, yes," Imrahldis quickly dismissed the man's words or the importance of the statement, his mind completely fascinated and preoccupied by far more interesting matters. "I have the Device. Lets head back to Camp and present this to my brother."_

_Imrahldis mounted his most beloved black stallion who pawed the air, reflecting his master's triumph and sped off._   
  


Koran let out an explosive breath as the image faded from his mind. He panted heavily, exhausted and deprived of oxygen. 

"Haldier," he said immediately. "Hisoka, you look _exactly_ like Haldier!" 

Echlan coolly studied the magician. "So you had a hand in the downfall of the Wardien King. By now, I can't say that anything really surprises me anymore. I'll leave you two to discuss whatever you may – I will attend to the Emperor now. Koran, call me when you are done, there's always work to do." 

After Echlan had gone, Koran spoke again, but this time, in a much lower, confidential voice. 

"It seems that you were destined to meet Illumi-san in this life – because I swear that Illumi-san looks exactly like Imrahldis." 

"There are some differences." Hisoka vaguely mused. "I mean, Illumi just doesn't arrogantly act like that or say things which…are flattering to himself." 

Koran nodded. "True, but Imrahldis must have been such a character back in his days. Did you see how he had long hair? He was defying tradition centuries ago and it looked like no one could really stop him. But YOU on the other hand – you seem so up tight and boring. _All in a day's work_ you say – does nothing ever faze you?" 

They both laughed for some time, then Hisoka turned the page. The writing was sprawled out in a spidery handwriting before him for pages and pages, and together, he and Koran read on: 

"Actually, Haldier came to my palace to find me five years later. He had apparently had a run in with the law enforcers after the Kalinnan Emperor banned and outlawed revenge killings. Many travelers and vagabounds could not accept the rigidness of the new laws designed to reinforce law and order in society – Haldier included. In one situation, he had allegedly took the law into his own hands and committed an execution without submitting the accused to the proper authorities for a proper trial. Of course, everyone knew that the guy he killed was a notorious criminal, but still, my pedantic brother insisted on everyone following the rules. 

Not me – I swore that the day I bent my will to a rule would be a day that I'd rather die. So Haldier came to me, looking for asylum, and I granted it to him without question. After I made clear that he was there with me the day the last Wardien King fell, Renard gave him a medallion which spared him from the death penalty for life. 

Haldier and I spent a lot of time together afterwards – we respected each other's strengths (though I was sure he respected me more) and constantly sparred each other without nen. Not long after, we eventually did everything together – ate together, slept together, hassled and bullied the other courtiers together, though me more so. He was content to remain in the background, silent and thoughtful. He usually hung around in the inconspicuous shadows, watching, studying us all with the sharp eyes of a hawk. He was the more reserved of us two – and that complimented me well. I was the extravagant and flashy one, with the grandiose gestures and words, playing the court and the courtiers like they were puppets in the palm of my hand. I was the greatest actor on the stage, and everyone could only hope to be like me. But sometimes I would almost go too far, and he would always be there to pull me back, to tell me not to overdo things and to stop me from falling off the addictive, yet perilous edge of the extreme life. I guess even the wildest stallion needs a companion who he treats as his equal and would not toss his words out the other ear and would actually value them. 

Value them I did. The soft spoken man thereafter never left my side. He went where I went and I went where he went. I never did realize just how _aloof_ I had been all my life – that the Wardien King's last curse was in part fulfilled already. I believe it was my limitless natural nen abilities and intellect which set me apart from the rest of the commoners, and I was always too proud to see anything good or worthy in them either. But Haldier was different – we became more than just good friends, more than blood brothers by pact. A bond did form between us that was stronger than friendship, stronger than family, stronger than lovers. I knew I would have gone to the ends of the universe with him, and he need only ask, and I knew he would do the same for me. It went so far that we swore to die together, on the same day, the same month, the same year. 

I had the best life – the best. But a mortal life is always too short to discover all the wonders of the world. Haldier and I tried to do as much as possible, but even if I did live to 190, it was still not enough. Haldier would pass away into eternity whilst my nen would continue to exist in the Forbidden Palace to make sure that one day, fate would bring Haldier's reincarnation here and my next life together and I would make sure that the curse would be lifted. No matter how gifted I am at nen, one still has to submit to death and whatever fate has in stall for our souls thereafter. I can only hope that I am granted all my powers that I had in my past life again so that I could continue to walk the world and see the people tremble beneath me and fate would once again, here my resounding and defiant laughter in its face. 

The rest of the book is a detailed journal of my long, long life and my adventures with Haldier. At the back, you'll find a list of the things that we had wanted to do but were unable to accomplish for our bodies had grown old and we are no longer as fast or as strong as we used to be. We compiled the list of the things that we wanted to do in our next lives – I only hope you'll take interest and see if you can complete it. That's all I have to say – whatever has happened to your life, we are partly responsible for. I won't apologize however – because both of us did what had to be done in our lifetime. I only ask that you understand, and now that you have read this book, meaning that your curse is finally at an end. Rejoice – you now have the rest of your lives to live, free from the meddling hands of destiny. I've done my part – the rest is yours – and don't come back here blaming me for anything in the future that goes wrong with your life. Have fun!" 

"He lived to 190?!" What a monster!" Koran muttered. 

"Where's this list that he was speaking of…" Hisoka ignored Koran's little comment and impatiently turned to the back of the book. A piece of paper slipped out, and Hisoka unfolded it with shaking hands. There were at least a hundred dot pots, but he quickly scanned through the list. 

"Holy cow…" he whispered, his expression settling into a scowl. "Illu and I have already done most of these already…" 

Koran blinked rapidly and quickly took a look. Some of the things on the 'to-do' list were downright…weird: Pass off as a loving couple for forty eight hours on one of the most crowded streets in one of the most crowded cities on earth. Spend a day fishing at Lake Elaserail (a place reputed exist on earth for only two days every sixty years). Rob a bank and pass the buck onto a notorious syndicate of criminals. Crash a party and wreak general havoc Go to a zoo and let out all the animals, riding out the front gates on the backs of stampeding rhinocerouses. Have a fight between ourselves and ignore each other for two weeks. Buy an apartment in a secluded area and live there for a year. Use Haldier as bait to catch the Shrakmosis (another mythical sea creature believed to be extinct but there have been sightings of it by deep sea explorers). "Hey Hisoka, you better quickly leave to find Illumi now before the curse comes back and get you." Koran said quietly, twiddling his thumbs a bit and too upset to meet his friend's gaze. He felt a comforting weight on his shoulder. 

"The curse is crap Koran," Hisoka easily countered. "I haven't had such a bad life – I mean, I met Hime-sama, the woman I most respected and cherished in my life. And I got to spend the good part of my childhood here in the Forbidden Palace, where I met you. It was right here, in these splendid palace grounds where my life really started Koran. This is my real home – I learnt my classes here, studied and developed nen here, learnt to plan and intrigue and make connections the moment I stepped beyond the Palace walls – this place has taught me everything. And then I met Illu – really, I can't say that my life has been so miserable or a private hell after all." He pulled Koran closer to him still. 

"Don't worry about Illu. He's got to go because Master Echlan would kill him if he didn't. You heard his voice amplified around the city last night? That sounded nothing like him – that sounded like a different person, a person not afraid to throw his weight about him. And Illumi's mother is or was a Kalinnan princess, so he's got royal blood. Of course he's got to leave. I'll look for him, after my wounds have healed." 

"Hey Hisoka, my rank could possible rise in the near future. Master Echlan is approaching 150 – he's going to let me be take over his position just to make sure I can run it properly. I'll be able to freely enter and leave the Palace Grounds as I wish by then. You could take me to see the world." 

Hisoka closed the book. He had seen enough and felt that spending time with his best friend was better than reminiscing about what he did in his past life. That wasn't important – he was alive now, and he only had the future to look forward to, not to worry about something that happened near a millennia ago. 

"I say that the world is overrated. I swear nothing beats the dirty and bloody politics of the Forbidden Palace and if you want impressive architecture, it's all around you. In fact, when people say "see the world", they mean they want to come _here_ to have a look." 

Koran and Hisoka shared the same long laugh and idly wandered out of the room, wondering what they could spend the rest of the day doing. 

* * *

  


Karen Kalinnan Kastro studied her reflection in the full length mirror with her new gift resting lightly on her shoulders. It was a gold, handweaved shawl that glittered so brightly that it looked like its sparkles had been plucked from the stars in the nightly heavens and had been imparted to her clothing. The material itself was not expensive – it was at most the best gold thread that was sold at market. The value lay in the skill and craft that twisted and wove the thread into delicate and intricate patterns, knitting them into one fine garment, now light as a feather and almost weightless across her shoulders. 

"Honey?" General Kamus' head poked through her bedroom door, but she had felt his nen long before he arrived. 

"Yew dad?" she replied absentmindedly, her attention still fiercely attracted to the golden shawl. 

"My gods! What a pretty thing!" Kamus flung her door wide open and moved forward to examine the treasure. 

"Cousin Illu made this for me." Karen said simply then turned to her dad. "So, what's up?" 

It took quite some effort for Kamus to concentrate on the topic he originally had in mind. Shaking his head a bit, he got back onto the main topic. "I just wanted to see that you were ok honey. My men just informed me that…you took care of East Gate last night." 

"Yep." Karen turned back to the mirror and studied the reflection one more time, then took the shawl off, folding it with infinite care. 

"Are…you ok? I mean to say…do you…you know…" 

"Still have an urge to kill?" she brightly asked. She saw her father visibly gulp. 

"Well…that is one way to put it." Kamus' memory had wandered back during the terrible days of the war when his daughter was almost unrecognizable, resembling a fallen angel whose blood red nen sickly crawled across the battlefield and dealt death with the slightest touch. Her hollow and distant look gave the toughest and most hardened soldiers shivers, for they belonged to an irredeemable, corrupted soul that only lingered on this world to make it in her own image. He almost lost his daughter once, and after his men's reports, he feared he would truly loose her this time. 

"It's ok dad – I'm perfectly fine. Mentor also praised my efforts in calling back the Emperor from death's door last night, and I was just about to make another shift at the hospital." 

Kamus was dumbstruck. "So…everything is ok?" 

Karen walked towards her door, ready to leave, but stopped just long enough to kiss her father on the cheek. 

"Yes dad, everything is fine. I have found the most peaceful place to meditate and do some thinking if I feel those urges again – so please don't worry." 

"At least tell me where this place is so that I know where you are." Her father called after her. She gave a bright, silver laugh. 

"Here, just here – my Sanctuary." She pointed to where her heart should be. Without waiting for a reply, she waved and ran off, late for her shift already. 

Kamus rubbed his forehead to fend off an on-coming headache and sighed. Things were just too weird today. 

* * *

  


Gon walked with Killua down the ruined streets of the city but was glad that people were already starting to rebuild what they had lost. Wing was injured last night protecting his student Zuuchi from the hordes of rebels, so he was going to spend at least the next six days in bed. Kurapika was with Leorio at the hospital, attending to the other wounded. So that just left the both of them to wander for the rest of the afternoon. 

"Hey Killua, what do you suppose we'll do after this?" 

"Oh, I don't know. Wait till the Pledge is over, then continue looking for your dad?" 

Gon looked just a little skeptical. "But Illumi has disappeared now – won't your family want you to return to help look after your younger brother and sister?" 

_"Yeah – when pigs fly!"_ came the rude retort that loudly penetrated their thoughts. 

"Allu! Get out of our heads!" Killua fumed, beating his head with his fists. 

_"It's no use brother – you have no defences against me! Fact aside – I just want to state that I'm quite capable of looking out of myself, and will certainly become the heir of the Zoldick family business."_

"Good!" his elder brother savagely responded. 

_"And Karuto certainly won't need your help. I believe that she has probably surpassed you in ability already – that is, if you keep on wandering and never testing your skills and abilities. Anyhow, Dad just wanted me to tell you that he wants us all to get together one last time before you go travelling again. So just drop by the hotel ok?"_

The presence in their minds disappeared like the wind had briefly pass through their hair. They both let out a sigh. 

"Your brother is so strange." 

"Tell me about it. And he says that getting into people's heads isn't even the difficult thing to do. Good – let him take care of the family, the less responsibility for me." 

"Hmmm….you sound a little jealous Killua." 

"Of course not." The kid scoffed, but it didn't sound too convincing. 

Both were soon distracted by an elderly man trying to catch a score of puppies that had run free from their pen. They spent the rest of the afternoon looking for the cute, furry grey animals. 


	28. Epilogue

****

EPILOGUE

Illumi wiped the sweat off his brow and plopped tiredly on to his newly acquired couch. Renovating and making one's home seemed to be more exhausting physically and mentally than running a ten hour marathon. Going off to the furniture stores to pick out just a simple dinner required him to find one that would match the general décor of his own house (which he hadn't fully decided on back when he was shopping for that particular piece of furniture) and THEN he had to decide what style he wanted – classically Victorian or something abstractly modern? He spent hours looking at chairs and tables seemingly without end in the large warehouse and ended up storming out of the place after four hours before he tore his beautiful hair out in frustration.

Glancing wearily to his right towards the dining area adjoined to the kitchen, he spied the table that he _did_ eventually buy and frowned, wondering if that was still the best choice. It was polished oak, rectangular but with rounded corners and some bits of carving on the legs which he still failed to appreciate although the salesman was gushing like crazy when he informed him about the new arrivals. The chairs were made of the same polished wood, and they had fancy, blood red cushions tightly sewn on.

Enough – enough of the damn chairs and table. The sofa was good, the sofa and the recliner chair were very good. It was comfortable, supported his weight and on most occasions, lulled him into a deep sleep whenever he became exhausted after a day's unpacking. His right hand idly crawled away from him and finally hit something solid. Sleek, smooth, dotted with many rubber buttons. The TV remote.

It was almost time – time for the live broadcast from Arcadia Central, the outside worn given a rare peek at the Forbidden Palace from the inside that only members of royalty or servants could enter. An immaculately and highly professional looking journalist with her dark brown hair tied back into a tight bun so that not a single strand was out of place was rapidly reporting to the audience. She was dressed in a sharp suit and looked like she had been offered the opportunity of a lifetime for there was a raw excitement about her that she just couldn't suppress from her voice. 

The camera passed around her and onto the spectacular view which took Illumi's breath away.

Across the acres of what was once bare and desolate courtyard was alive with people, banners and a spill of colours from the thousands of flying flags and banners. Along the palace walls, at every five paces, there was a flag pole which bore the Arcadian flag, and whether by some trick of nen or heaven bestowed wind, the standards billowed and waved proudly, a signal to all other countries. Within the walls, ten thousand soldiers in full army gear, armed each with a ceremonial sword stood in painfully straight lines at parade rest, all facing the Dais. There were also one thousand bureaucrats dressed in full Court uniform and a hundred representatives from the national minorities from around the country, each dressed in their traditional and unique clothing. Everyone stood, facing the Dais, a solemn look of anticipation and pride in their face.

Behind the Dais stood a massive brass band, the trumpets dominating the front line, held up erect by the musicians and gleaming almost painfully from the warm summer's sun. Suddenly, with one sharp twist of the conductor's baton, there was a long, clear, silver note from the band, and it was the signal for all the people to turn in the direction of the one red carpeted path down the dead center of the Forbidden Palace leading up to the Dais. Following hushed gasps from the civilians granted invitation to attend the ceremony, they spied the small figure of their Emperor dressed in the official golden yellow robes. She sat atop a pale grey elephant led by an ornately gem encrusted rein, and she gazed steadily forward toward her podium. To either side of her was the Master Eunuch and the Palace Guardian. Echlan was dressed in his navy blue uniform, the gold lining on his sleeves signifying his status was clear for all to see. To Rudy's left was a giant of a man distinguished by the horrifically impressive scar that ran down the side of his face. Berenger who valiantly defeated the enemy at the South Gate was dressed from head to toe in gleaming white and gold armor. He strode impassively beside the elephant placing himself as the barrier between the world and his Emperor. His large double headed battle axe swung against his hip, and his backup weapon, the great sword dubbed "Widowmaker" was slung across his back as a warning to anyone who was foolish or idiotic enough to pounce forth and attack. 

As she passed, people fell down onto one knee in respect. Sector by sector, waves of people bobbed down and did not rise until Rudy had alighted the beast and stepped onto the dais, and by her sharp gesture, they all stood uniformly and they waited for the speech to begin.

The camera zoomed up to her face and hovered, waiting for her to speak. But Rudy took her time, taking in the grand, moving scene before her – wherever the eye could reach, the Forbidden Palace was filled with people all straining to hear her voice, whose gaze never left her figure, attracted by the magnetism of her aura. She looked stern, determined and uncompromising. It was the look of someone way beyond her years, thrust upon her by the wheels of necessity, yet she made no complaint about it. It was the sign of one determined to be successful, had full confidence in her abilities and knew that she could trust her life to each and every one of those who attended the ceremony.

Illumi laid back fully on the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't need to hear the speech – he was there when the inspiration had hit her, there and then after they had visited the home of Striker, and later when they sat on the roof of the Throne Room and consumed numerous cans of beer and packets of other junk food. He only hoped that she would like her gift after she unraveled it after her Pledge to the nation was over.

He probably dozed off for about half an hour, and when he opened his eyes again, Rudy had reached the climax of her speech and was reaching the dramatic end. 

"…I swear by my life, am willing to sacrifice my humanity, to do all that I can possibly do for my people who have granted me an opportunity to stand here today, the people who paid with their blood, their lives, their anguish and their grief. The same people who lost loved ones in the war and died for me, and I hereby pledge that I am willing to do the same in return. Give me your support, give me your trust, give me your faith, and my lifelong commitment to this country you shall have in return. Seal!"

Echlan was shaking. Not many Emperors even in the history text books, had made a Pledge and Seal it in front of their nation and broadcast around the world for failure to fulfil the pledge was an invitation to the public to execute the Emperor herself. He approached the fiery cauldron of flames beside the Dais and thrust the royal seal bearing the royal emblem in.

There was a horrified gasp when Echlan fumbled and lost grip of the seal which tumbled from the jaws of the tongs and fell into the hot glowing coals. Rudy's hand immediately and almost impatiently reached into the flames and grabbed the sigil and without hesitation, branded her naked left forearm with the burning metal. She did not utter a cry of pain, only eyes widened with almost ungodly determination. Echlan had decapitated and killed many, many men in his lifetime, but the sudden sizzling of burning metal in contact with bare skin and the burning smell of burnt flesh afterwards almost caused him to blanche and turn away. His face visibly whitened and the strength was sapped from his legs. He could feel his knees shaking and fervently hoped that others could not see it.

Rudy carelessly flung the seal away and turned back to the crowd holding out her forearm, thick, crimson blood seeping out of the new wound, but her voice was as harsh and resolute as ever.

"By my blood, by this mark, I pledge my soul to create a future that those who died for us will be proud of – a future of limitless opportunities and chances, of prosperity and security, of strength and honour. This pledge is made to those alive and to those dead – I have finally found out how to repay your trust and faith in me – you left your family and friends to die for your country, and as I remain, I will bestow upon them the greatest gift that I can give."

And as Rudy knelt before the people, the sea of people all fell to their knees yet again.

Illumi turned the TV off and smiled at the still silence, looking around him at the new home that he had personally hand picked and decorated. So far, life was great.

=============================

Rudy felt a buzz of excitement after the ceremony was over. She managed to avoid any officials or bureaucrats who would bother her with insignificant praise for her speech on her way back to the more private sectors of the Forbidden Palace and desperately looked around for Master Echlan. She wanted to open Illumi's present.

Koran was the one who found her. "This way, sire." He grinned at the child who skipped beside him, unable to contain her hyperactive energies.

"You are looking healthy, sire." The eunuch commented.

Rudy gave a firm nod. "I haven't tried to do much this week – Faust said not to – and I think that I'm well enough to handle my prior workload now. Which is good – time to dig back into the job after the extended holiday huh?"

"Yes sire."

"Come on, hurry up. I want to see my present!"

Master Echlan had followed the brief instructions left by Illumi to the word. In front of him was a table around twelve feet long, and the gift, inside the cylindrical covering, lay on the right side, dangerously close to the edge. His first initial guess was that it was a painting, and the more he read the instructions, the more his opinion was confirmed. The roll inside was to be unraveled from right to left along the long table – and if it wasn't a painting, he didn't know what else it could be. General Misha suddenly wandered by and hung around, drawn by the curiosity. He wanted to see the gift and Echlan had to almost fight him off just so that it was Rudy who would be the first to see its contents.

Misha had made known for the past week that he was in a foul mood. During the night of the bloody coup, he had anticipated on mind blowing fighting, but unfortunately, the West Gate didn't have much sport to offer the mad man. So all week, he slouched around the Palace and City, led search parties to thoroughly comb all the shady and dark spots to rout out the last of the resisting rebels. And still, he wasn't satisfied with the blood and generally pestered all the other Generals into sparring with him. 

"Must I get a leash for you or something?" Kamus scowled, slightly out of breath. He looked absolutely furious, and for good reason. Aside from Liam, it was generally accepted amongst the ten Generals of Arcadia that Kamus dealt with Misha well, and hence the responsibility of restraining the madman should be his job. He didn't take delight in the job and always muttered and grumbled about his ill fate. Especially since Misha didn't know how to spell 'trouble' and was never grateful to Kamus for keeping his head away from the chopping blocks.

Misha did not bother hiding his irritation. "More like you need one for her daughter. I saw the reports for the East Gate that night – Miss Karen has gone wild again so you should keep her away from the hospitals in case she decides to take all the patients' lives in another bout of frenzy."

"How dare you question the professionalism of my daughter? Might I just _remind_ you that Karen has been promoted into a full Imperial Doctor?" Kamus shot back hotly.

Misha sniffed disapprovingly. "We all remember the last time she turned into the Fallen Angel of Death. Only the Emperor could reach out to her and reclaim her soul. And thereafter she underwent _months_ of therapy. This time? Nothing – she just says she's fine, but who can prove it?"

"I can." Echlan said readily behind the both of them, his chin just sticking out a little, both hands calmly clasped behind his back. "The Sanctuary within us is so powerfully calm that it can subdue all murderous beasts within us. I experienced this along with Karen-sama as well."

Kamus nodded appreciatively. "I might recommend YOU having some therapy sessions Misha. We really need to work on you sanity and cure your bloodlust. Me, I hope we never have to go to war again. That way, I can live out the rest of my life in peace – god knows I need lots of it. How about you Misha? You are young – you shouldn't even BE a General because it is unlikely that Her Majesty is ever going to go off to war again if she can help it. You'll be a soldier who won't ever get to experience a decent fight for the rest of your life. What will you do?"

Misha shook, almost uncomfortably and if you looked close enough, you could some moistness gathered in his eyes.

Kamus sighed mournfully and put a friendly arm around Misha. Sometimes, some situations didn't require words. He knew full well that Misha only possessed his amazingly twisted powers through his madness alone. The hideous Cell was his most famous construct, renowned for breaking the strongest man in half an hour, guaranteed. The war drove him insane – and although his history and background were vague, Kamus knew that Misha must have lost something or someone very dear to him otherwise he couldn't think of anything else which would instill a need for destruction and death so intense that he _pitied_ Misha. If a man was reduced to living for nothing but tomorrow's war, what was the point in living? 

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said that." Kamus said softly holding the young man, young enough to be his son, closer to him. Misha shrugged off his arm however. His eyes were desolate, distant.

"Wouldn't….wouldn't it be good if I were some sort of cyborg – to be switched on or off when circumstances demand…" he whispered. "Then to be re-activated only when I'm needed again?"

"No, no, don't say that, don't say that at all."

"I don't need therapy Kamus. I need to be shut down." The tall man abruptly spun around and turned to leave.

"Misha…" 

"I'll hand in my resignation tonight and be out of the Palace by the evening." His voice became increasingly soft and distant as he walked away. "I'll find a place of never ending violence and bloodshed. That will suit me well."

Kamus gave Echlan a pained look. "General SummerIsle isn't going to be happy. Excuse me, I'll have to keep an eye on Misha to see he does nothing…scandalous. Oh – and Customs just reported to me that the Zoldicks have left the country."

"I know," Echlan said airily "Zeno made his farewells last night. Did you get a chance to say goodbye to your sister? You might never see her again."

Kamus grunted. "Nonsense – she says she'll write to me at least three times a year and pay me a visit at the annual coronation festival."

"And what of that bruise on your jaw?"

The general gave his injured jaw a sore rub. "I was fulfilling my brotherly duty and making a point to her husband. He and I…had a scuffle, but he walked away with a black eye."

Echlan raised a delicate eyebrow "What point were you trying to make?" he asked incredulously.

"I told him if he ever let my sister get hurt again, I will personally hunt him down and incinerate him into nothing but his carbon makeup. Then my trusted lions gaped open their mouths to show him what nice, long, sharp teeth they have."

Echlan tried to imagine the scene in his head, with the General standing up to the most notorious assassin of this age with a dark shadow between his eyes and his fiery lions of nen by his side, uttering his threats. Or the 'scuffle' that might have occurred afterwards.

"And Kikyou actually jumped to _his_ defence instead of me! I was trying to HELP her, but as always, she fails to understand that I was trying to do what's best for her. And Silva sat there on his butt, his hair singed, clothes half burnt and generally exhibiting the pose of a loser but still had the gall to _smirk_ at me! Urgh…some days wouldn't go right even if you paid them. I have to catch up to Misha now. Be seeing you around."

"Hope your day goes better." Echlan intoned, careful to strip the amusement from his voice. 

And then Rudy and Koran arrived.

"My present, gimme gimme gimme!" Rudy ecstatically skipped to the table and read the instructions. Taking the contents out of the cover, she unraveled the roll of cloth and gasped in astonishment.

The dragon was so vivid, so alive that it looked like it would suddenly jump free of its stitches and fly away. Its serpentine body above the clouds – its eyes looked at her with every inch of regality and control, wisdom and age. In one of its claws it grasped a sparkling jewel which resembled the Device. The whole four meters of embroidery displayed a dragon rising past the clouds, higher and higher up into the azure sky reaching for a greater glory, the sun reflecting its golden scales like an arrow of light, piercing through all obstacles to claim its rightful throne in the heavens. There was a short prose embrioded on the far right in ancient Arcadian script:

__

The Dragon will scale all mountains in its path

And will inevitably break through the clouds 

Into the clear sky, expanseless, limitless

To strive for greater glory mortal men cannot even dream about

And when it reaches the zenith of the heavens

It will become the granter of dreams and wishes

And remain forever in living immortality.

Echlan was speechless. He was numbed by the whole magnificence and beauty of the embroidery. He counted more than fifty hues of blue, twenty strands of grey and silver laced clouds. Each dragon's scale had been painstakingly accentuated by glimmering golden thread, but the pose, its eyes, were just so real that the vivacious beast would step out of the picture and truly fly into the skies which it had dreamed since time immemorial. He hadn't seen this sort of workmanship since the late master tailor who died some seventy years ago. 

"Frame it up." Rudy whispered, her fingers gently tracing along the spine of the might beast. "Place it in the best frame you can lay your hands on, then pin it up above my throne. This is my destiny – it will serve as my reminder that I will prevail against anything which defies my path. This is who I will be. Frame it up."

Gon took a long draught out of his water and sighed. His legs were weary, his mood depressed and his general demeanor downcast. They were sitting at the airport in some third world backwater country called Katoomba on yet another wild goose chase in the hunt for Jin. 

"Hey, cheer up. We'll get another lead." Killua offered him a bag of sweets, but Gon rejected.

"That very lead was from the Hunter Website. It was supposed to be reliable, and it cost us 20 million jenis for the information. Another failure."

Killua pursed his lips and tried hard not to look grim. Gon was doing enough for the both of them already. They had begun their travel and search for Jin after the Arcadian Coronation Festival, and come to think of it, they had constantly been on the run for almost a year already. It was tiring – if not mentally for each time they arrived in a new country, they clutched to their hearts new hopes that they were one step closer to finding Gon's father. And each time it proved not to be the case. They now sat at the airport, with no particular destination in mind, only the solitary brooding by Gon and the deep compassion Killua felt for his friend.

But they weren't going to get anywhere just by sitting here. The albino child looked around at the busy terminal about him. Old men in business suits sat, calmly reading the newspaper and waiting the signal for boarding, their suitcases guarded close to their feet. And 2 rich and spoilt brats bragging and comparing the plushies in their hands.

"Look at your filthy little commoner doll, with the baggy cap and the unruly spiked hair! _My_ Immy is so much more like a King – look at his wonderful black clothes and not to mention the gold stitching. What do you have to say to that?" one of the young girls thrust a very, very, VERY familiar looking doll at the other girl. The other brunette narrowed her eyes viciously.

"_I_ on the other hand, have more substance and depth than you do. _MY_ doll is supposed to be a legendary 2-star hunter!" the little girl sniffed with disdain. "I don't have to have fancy clothes or nice hair to show the world that I'm better than them." She sneered, wagging her doll back at the other blonde.

Killua viciously jabbed at Gon and virtually shook him till his teeth rattled to get the dejected boy's attention. Once Gon's soul had finally returned to earth, Killua frantically pointed in the two brats' direction.

"J…..J….Jin!" the young assassin finally managed to blurt out. Gon looked quizzically at him for some moments, before his eyes finally focused on the doll the brunette girl had in her hand. The doll had a grey baggy cap, a dark greyish jacket and black pants. If you took the cap off, the hairstyle on the plushie was similar to Gon's own unruly and unkempt hair. Without further ado, they both dashed towards both girls.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" they simultaneously exclaimed.

The two little girls stopped their bickering to look suspiciously at the two teenage boys that had suddenly jumped them with questions. The blonde slowly spoke.

"Poor commoners like you wouldn't be able to afford these dolls. They were bought in Florence – one of the most richest and exclusive cities on the planet. I suggest you continue dreaming."

Killua grit his teeth and fought against Gon's restraining arm.

"So exactly what's this store in Florence called?" he politely asked.

The brunette and blonde silently conferred with each other, then the blonde shrugged prettily.

"Not that it matters to you – but if you _really_ want to know, our parents bought me wonderful Immy from _Arammi's Dollhouse_. But it's more than just a shop that sells dolls – _my_ parents are going to have the owner design my next birthday dress!" she declared proudly and looked almost triumphantly at the brunette who now seethed with anger.

Gon and Killua hastily retreated lest they get caught in the dangerous crossfire of verbal insults.

"Florence is famous for its grandeur and elegance. It has many canals and a thriving gondola business for tourists. It is home to the most mesmerizing architecture and its musical and artistic culture spans a millennia. Come on Gon – it's time to show you how the real elite of society really live." Killua grinned devilishly at his friend and both raced to the counter to purchase the next flight to Florence.

Hisoka groggily opened his eyes and mutely groaned at the tiredness still in his bones. He forced his mind to recount the events of the past twenty four hours. 

He had just alighted from a blimp in the most expensive city to live in and immediately began tracking down the boutique store named _Arammi's Dollhouse_. It had taken him a full year of searching and tracking around the globe to finally come up with this name – and the significance immediately struck him. That – of if the search again proved futile, he would kill whoever had dared to use the name "Arammi" to vent out his anger and frustration. Trust Illumi to be able to cover his movements so entirely. He had erased his record from the Hunter Association Website, and all other –personal identification, then changed his mobile phone number. After that, it was pretty much trying to search for the needle in the haystack.

Only that Hisoka persisted, and finally stumbled upon a child hugging a doll very much resembling him to her chest. It was then he got his lead to Florence.

And upon arriving into _Arammi's Dollhouse_, he was greeted by two brightly cheery twins who greeted their customers like a god. The store was just as lavish and elaborate as was demanded by a high-class city such as Florence. The gloss from the light coloured wood was so clean and sparkling bright that Hisoka saw his reflection more clearly than glass. On the highly polished planks of wood sat tens and hundreds of plushies and stuffed dolls. He recognized a handful of them – Illumi's own family (Silva was named "Evil White Haired Monster"), Gon, the Kurata, the members of the Genei Ryodan (Kuroro and Machi were currently out of stock), and a few other faces in his fading memory from the Fighting Tower. 

Another dozen spotlights basked down on another row of dolls dresses to his right, all splendidly aligned in a well calculated blend of colours. The most impressive about the barbie dresses wasn't the fact that they were made from rare, expensive materials, but the intricate and superb stitches and embroidery on the small, doll sized garment. Some even had precious gems and diamonds stitched in and were outrageously priced. However, on a small bit of paper, there was an auction currently being conducted, ending two weeks from now, for the last set to be sold before the next season. The current bid was enough for one to live for half a year at the six star hotel The Imperial in Arcadia Central. There really were such spoilt brats and cold parents who wished to substitute their love and quality time with money and materials.

Behind the two counters where the twins served on either side of the room and under the scrutiny of yet another bright spotlights was a whole collection of plushies featuring the people from the Forbidden Palace in Arcadia. Romdimostev Alanis Kalinnan III sat on an onyx throne in her impressive royal yellow robes with a vivid dragon in the center of her tunic embroided with a skill almost beyond mortal comprehension and a head dress with many strands of dangling pearls. She was one of the most expensive dolls in the entire shop. Koran plushies were noted as 'low in stock' and Misha had a maniac's grin and held a wicked glaive. On the lower shelves all around the shop were an assortment of animals, soft, cuddly and heart-stoppingly lifelike.

The thing that caught his eye however, were the plushies of himself on one of the more prominent shelves. There were three of them, each with a different hair colour (aqua blue, deep red-brown and highlighter red-pink) with a different outfit (all of which he had worn) but with the same makeup – the star and tear beneath each eye. They were labelled "The World's Greatest Magician". 

Hisoka then balked – even the cheapest doll in this shop was tagged at over ten thousand jenis. 

One of the girls with the green bobbed hair cut and cutesy uniform of navy blue with a bright pink scarf around her neck approached him and bowed low.

"Good evening sir. My name is Linda. How may I help you?"

Taken back by the extreme manners and formality, let alone the disarming dimples she had, Hisoka had to take a moment to collect himself.

"I am….er…looking for someone."

"Someone?" she pursed her lips for only a fraction of a moment then brightly responded. "Ah yes! Boss-sama had said that these dolls are all based on someone. I understand – but unfortunately, Boss-sama doesn't ever tell us who these people are, unless we know of them personally. Perhaps you could give me a description?"

"Ummm…no – I was looking for your Boss."

"Boss-sama? Have you an appointment? May I have your name please?" Linda briskly turned around and walked to her own designated counter whilst her twin sister, who introduced herself as Mindy, watched on with a pleasant smile.

"I don't have an appointment. Is your Boss in?"

"You don't have an appointment?" Linda blinked her wide blue eyes at him with puzzlement. Her sister stopped whatever she was doing to unobtrusively tune in.

"Yeah – is he in? I'm a friend of his."

The once pleasant and welcoming atmosphere almost immediately lost its warmth and the previously respectful attitude from Linda and Mindy tangibly turned hostile and nasty. Hisoka gulped. He had obviously said something wrong. 

"Boss-sama is not in right now. If you'll kindly leave your name and contact number, we'll pass your message to him."

"He's not in? Then I take it he lives around here? If you could give me his address…"

The tension in the air didn't ask twice to snap. The magician drearily realized that he had accidentally pushed things too far, and what he saw were nice and agreeable sales girls glared daggers at him and formed intentions to do things…adverse to his help. 

"I insist, please leave your name and contact number and our Boss will confirm whether you are a 'friend' as you profess to be."

"Oh – that's ok. I'll come back tomorrow morning then. I want to give him a surprise." He mustered all the sweetness into his voice that he could, but the two girls were like vipers. Later, he realized that there was no correct answer and anything would have landed him in trouble.

And then the other girl, Mindy, threw her sister a sword and both attacked him with a speed that he had not expected, and with a skill that only confirmed who the owner of the premises was. The girls had executed the Meteor Rain on him in attempts to shred him into a million pieces. Almost immediately, they were out onto the streets with glittering lines of silver all around him from the deadly feints and jabs of the swords. The girls were good – their moves were well co-ordinated and each blow had decent strength. They had obviously been through strict and rigorous training. 

Had he been a lesser man, he may as well have died before seeing his lifelong partner again, but because he was Hisoka, the nasty and manipulate magician, who also conveniently knew the steps to the Meteor Rain and knew more variations and stances than the girls, he soon disarmed them and whilst both girls were tied up (kicking and screaming to the ver end), he ransacked the store and came up with what was a credible address.

The house was just two streets away, and after forcing the lock, he stumbled into a neat and homely household. The soft blend of colours and welcome atmosphere made Hisoka feel like he had come home, a safe haven of security and a common peace. Without hesitation, he began to explore the rest of the house and finally found the main bedroom. Unlike the other rooms, this one was devoid of fabric, stuffing, loose threads and dolls. The only doll lay on the king sized bed. Hisoka smiled mischievously. It was a giant plushie….of himself.

Stretching luxuriously, he flung himself onto the bed and deeply breathed in the familiar and comforting scent. He hugged the doll to himself and in minutes, he was soundly asleep.

There was now a warmth and bulk beside him. Wearily turning aside, he turned to see if Illumi had kept a dog who he didn't see when he walked in. But to his heart wrenching surprise, Illumi himself was sound asleep beside him, innocent and expressionless, breathing steadily. Whatever tiredness in Hisoka instantly vanished. His head cleared, eyes sparkled and strength surged into his muscles. Without another thought, he rolled on top of the young man and like a happy puppy, immediately rained kisses on the face he had missed for an entire.

Illumi woke up with something akin to a small fright and a jolt to shake off whatever it was on top of him. But Hisoka was stronger and heavier and prepared for that kind of reaction.

"Illu…" Hisoka purred and vigorously rubbed his cheek against Illumi's. 

"HI-SO-KA!" Illumi exclaimed, red face and furious. "You don't see me sexually harassing you when I find you sleeping defenceless and hapless before me!"

"Aww Illu…don't be so cold." His hands wandered down to unbutton Illumi's shirt and the belt around his waist.

"Argh! Help! I'm being attacked by a big pervert!"

Hisoka stroked the right buttons and rubbed himself on the right places which eventually placated the half hearted struggles.

"It takes a lustful man to fulfill the appetites of a big pervert." Hisoka sang cheerily and made to compensate for his year of longings.

========================

Hisoka couldn't stop humming a happy tune in the early morning. He got up and made breakfast, then served them to Illumi in bed, the latter still in deep slumber from the night's previous activity. Hisoka quietly studied the pale face half distracted by the fine strands of ebony hair on the peach coloured bed sheets.

__

And I can wake up to this every morning.

"Wakey wakey!" He tapped Illumi lightly on the nose. With the reflexes and training of an assassin, and despite his tiredness, Illumi's eyes immediately flew open and he sat up at the protest of his muscles.

"I made breakfast!" Hisoka declared proudly. Illumi accepted without a nod of thanks but Hisoka didn't mind. He had a whole lifetime to coax a 'thank you' out of him.

And he had a whole lifetime to put up with Illumi's tantrums. After they finished breakfast, groomed and dressed and arrived at Illumi's store, they found Linda and Mindy still bound and furious at Hisoka.

"Boss-sama! Don't trust that man!" were Linda's first words. Illumi rushed to untie Mindy then turned to all three of them to account for the damage and mess in his store.

"He started it!" Mindy accused, pointing at Hisoka. "He says he's your 'friend' Boss-sama, and wanted your address!"

"Of course we can't trust him. He refused to leave a name and contact details, so we immediately reacted to eliminate the threat! Then he tied us up and left us here all night and ransacked your shop!"

Mindy rubbed her sore wrists and quietly spoke after noticing something striking. "But…how come you both arrived together?" 

Illumi blinked a bit first, then looked to Hisoka and fought off an impending blush after remembering their reunion last night.

"He's my…."

"Secret gay lover." Hisoka smirked and stepped forward, extending a hand of reconciliation to the twins.

==========================

Gon and Killua finally made their way up the cobbled streets to "Arammi's Dollhouse" and pushed through the glass doors, only to be greeted with the sight of Illumi slapping Hisoka senseless, shouting and cursing at the same time. 

"Aniki?" Killua's voice trailed, his attention immediately swept away by the glamorous interior and the rows upon rows and shelves upon shelves of dolls.

Illumi in his rage stopped and swung around.

"What do you two want?" he growled harshly, his irritation further fueled by the smirk that refused to leave Hisoka's face.

Gon plucked a plushie from one of the shelves and gripped onto it tightly, holding it up for Illumi to see.

"We want to know what you know about this person." He said seriously. 

Illumi frowned and let go of Hisoka's front shirt. He curtly turned around and headed towards the door behind the counter.

"Follow me, we'll discuss this in my office."

The door slammed after them, leaving Linda and Mindy to clean up the mess created by Hisoka. Linda giggled after a while, her amusement infecting her sister.

"They do look kinda cute together, no?"

Mindy nodded. "So Boss-sama isn't as lonely or miserable as we thought. That's nice. I was starting to get worried."

"Me too, Mindy, me too."

THE END


	29. Edits and changes made in revision

**A U T H O R ' S N O T E S (I)**

* * *

I'm finally doing it! After many promises of reworking and revising this fanfic, it's finally underway. Hopefully, I'll manage at _least_ a chapter each week…and even better if I could do one a day. There won't be drastic changes – the plot will definitely not be altered in any way, shape or form. I just felt that, apart from the editing errors and typographical problems, there were some sections which could have been expanded and elaborated upon, and some things just too rushed. So, what's new with 

**C H A P T E R 1:**

**(1) **The old beginning I thought was dry. It sounded like those info-dumps that I've been railing against as of late, and so I better not commit the same boo-boo myself. Instead of having the omnipotent narrator (me!) give you some textbook entry on the country's background, I gave it to Killua to read out. Only a small alteration, a bit convenient, but still better than the expository entrance. 

**(2) **Just some small spelling and typo errors here and there. Changed the structure of a few sentences to help it flow a bit more. 

Overall, just brushed up the English a bit – not that many changes.   


**C H A P T E R 2**

**(1) **Again, there was just a lot of editing typos to fix up along with a bit more embellishments. 

**(2)** Concerning Kamus' sudden appearance - him appearing out of nowhere was just a bit too convenient. Small convenicnes are ok - which is basically what I've turned it into - from one huge convenience into a smaller one. I can't think of any other way to get rid of it completely, so yeah, basically, a friendly stranger comes up and strikes a conversation with two kids. There....are some people who are that friendly I guess, so I hope I've created a friendly enough impression of the man.   


**C H A P T E R 3:**

A lot more to deal with in this chapter. Basically, I go into a bit more detail and depth about how Kamus acts and thinks. 

**(1)** Extended the scene between Kamus and Gon and Killua. The conversation is slightly stretched and Kamus this time acts with more caution and reserve. 

**(2) **Introduction of Karen and Illumi's strange relationship. I realize that I never made clear that Karen looks **a lot** like Kikyou when she was young - and so it's got a lot to do with Illumi's past history. He loved his mum before they deprived him of all his emotions - and after all these years, there's still a sort of yearning for his mother to love him back (no, this is NOT an Oedipus complex!), and he doesn't realize that in trying to win Karen's smiles and affection, he's really subconsciously trying to get his mother's recognition. 

I also altered a bit of the Kastro family's history - nothing too big - just shifted the time that Kim killed herself (you really can't make a lasting impression on a 4 year old girl - Karen's attatchment to her aunt was not explained well at all in the first draft, hence I'm trying to bring it out now with the alterations). Furthermore, I also changed the way Karen reacted to her past - her tears and all seemed too Mary Sueish: bam - Illumi with new girl - girl with tragic past - girl cries about tragic past - girl gets comforted by Illumi. By actually stating that Karen's other nature is murderous and revels in blood, I'm trying to establish that she's got another side to her which, since you've all read on, has already been revealed. 

**(3) _"_**_And what influenced or directed the family or place that we are all born to? Since time immemorial, humanity had always held some "higher power" responsible – or was it just the impartial chance and probability running its endless course?"_ --> No Illumi - it was your past life. The ending of the story answers this question, but I had to state the question first right? It's so much easier to fix the story once you actually _know_ what happens.   


**C H A P T E R 4:**

Not much to change here - again, just a bit more embellishment and elaboration on some actions and feelings. It's a short chapter, an interlude in which Illumi's cover is busted. The only thing to note is that Kamus isn't affected by the news of Illumi being a man at all - reader: start thinking about the importance. Instead, he's only more concerned that Illumi is a Zoldick. 

Also tried to add a bit more on the way Kamus thinks - I'm trying to flesh out more of his paranoia and how his position and job turns him from a friendly, fatherly type of person into a man who calculates each and every possible motive behind everyone's actions and how that might impact upon him.   
  


**C H A P T E R 5:**

Heck, a lot of changes to this one. I've inserted a completely new subplot that I only hinted at in the old version. It's not terribly much, but still, it needs to be shown. Later on (as you've already read), Illumi reveals to Rudy in about five words how he had been in a fight with Hisoka and it was all resolved in Arcadia. Don't know what I'm talking about? Exactl - that's why I had to have the new scene. 

**(1)** One of the few scenes with only Silva and Kikyou - tried to add a bit more of what Silva's thinking to give him a bit more depth. Accentuated his fear of his wife's temper for a gratuitous bit of humor. Do they seem a little out-of-character? Possibly slightly, but I think that when you are on a little holiday, you tend to be a bit more relaxed. 

**(2)** New scene between Hisoka and Illumi to highlight the fact that they're fighting. I hope Illumi sounded harsh enough - concerning the whole 'break up', that will be further developed in the later chapters. I was most pleased however, with the fact that I upped Liam's appearance! Whee! For those who have finished the fic, you'll note that Liam's been following Illumi around ever since day one of the beauty competition. This time, he's actually stepped in to defend him - it wasn't mere coincidence that he just happened to be around (*wink wink*). So yeah - ultra pleased with this small development - one hole patched, a zillion more to come. 

**(3)** *sigh* no matter what I do, I just can't seem to bring Leorio together with his friends in a more well connected and coherent scene. I think this is the best I can do =( Leorio stops to chat with his friends with Faust behind him? If I were him, I wouldn't stop until I was in the next country, but oh well. How else to bring them all together? I was never good at handling large crowds. 

**(4)** You may have noticed by now that I've used the phrase "_urge to back away, very slowly_" has popped up quite a few times already. It runs in the Kastro family I guess - only Kamus, Karen and Kikyou so far make people feel that way. Faust....you just bloody want to run away from him when he's angry. Well, I hoped that litle insert was amusing.   


**C H A P T E R 6:**

Wow - there was quite a bit to work on here. This has got to be one of my top rushed and confusing chapters. It's all very well that I know what I'm going on about, but I suspect that this didn't make a lot of sense to just about everyone else. How glad I am to have had to opportunity to redress the issues and problems. 

**(1)** I don't know if I've committed the cardinal sin of writing - and that is to tell rather than to show. I don't know how else to bring forward Karen's other side, her inner desires and dark secrets. That was an entirely new extension in her conversation with Leorio. Every time she starts to think about the war, thoughts of blood and murder inescapably arise and she feels an urge to kill. As you saw in Chapter 23 (?) - her transformation back into the Fallen Angel is (supposed to be) terrifying and her nen reflects her character. Rather than just spring that on you, as I felt that the old story did, I had to introduce it earlier - I hope this was acceptable. If not, I could always come back a year later and work on this the third time. 

**(2)** Arcadian politics - is supposed to be very much reminiscent of Chinese politics back in the Imperial age. As Kikyou has mentioned this time: _Didn't the Empress get rid of our family_, the Empress back in imperial China were usually relatives of officials in very high positions - their brothers could be the heads of armies, their uncles a top level mandarin. Thus the Empress and her extended family are a faction of their own - without powerful backing, the Empress would undoubtedly be disposed by the other concubines - twice as ambitious, twenty times as vicious. The Chinese court was riddled with intrigue - competing factions, power struggles, trying to earn the favour of the Emperor; it's all Very Complicated and by the use of 'Forbidden Palace' (helloooo! Forbidden City peoples!), I had hoped that people could naturally place themselves in the Orient. Hey - if your school makes you learn about US history when you don't even live in the US, now's time to open your eyes to some Chinese history. Don't complain - and consider yourself lucky that you're being exposed - I sure as hell wished I was when I was back in highschool - but no - it was either the American Revolution or the Russian Revolution. Yeah - we Chinese have our revolution led by Sun Yat-sen as well, but I guess that's not glamours enough to qualify as a topic to study. Argh...I rant... 

**(3)** Following point 2, I think I fleshed out a new tension between the Kastro family and the Eunuchs of the Forbidden Palace - Karen sees Echlan as a _wily old fox_, which is like the antithesis to her father - her father is a warrior - and that usually implies principles, concepts of honour and duty whereas Echlan is viewed as a shady, shifting character who can't be trusted. 

Having said that - with this new draft, it looks like the OCs take to the stage much faster than in the old version. Alas, it has to be - otherwise if you don't get to know them now, you're going to be annoyed later when they _do_ have a more prominent role. Unfortunately, Killua and Gon, having satisfied the establishment of some obstacle which Illumi has to encounter (aka his cover is blown), slowly slide into the background. Sorry folks - but were I six years younger, perhaps I'd be gushing all over the pair and can't stop writing about that, but that just doesn't happen to be the case.   
  


**C H A P T E R 7:**   


Of course, fixed up a few more typos and slip ups which occur through shoddy editing (aka sitting in front of the tv with a microwave dinner by your side). The major changes here were: 

**(1) **Mainly to do with the stadium scene. Here, Misha is introduced as a madman, cavalier, handsome, slightly devilish. The general structure of this scene was fine, except it was lacking in cohesion and detail, so I went in to colour some gaps that I had missed. Wing's introduction of the natural nen user remains the same however. 

**(2)** Kikyou's flashback had been done terribly the first time. It was hasty, sketchy and generally glossed over. Well, I haven't added that much more, but probably just enough to make it presentable. I've also decided to drop all the Japanese tags like 'ni-chan' etc so that the story remains consistently in English. Anyway, Kikyou's flashback has been given just a bit more detail, but I think this time around in the editing, I wanted to add in more of the people's reaction. Their reaction to Kikyou's account of her past helps to solidify Kikyou's character a bit more. Yes, she carried poison as a small child, but I've tried to enhance Silva's fear and respect for her so that Kikyou is a bit more defined as an uncompromising and ruthless woman. She's a character who I'll drastically need to work on in the later chapters – Silva is ok because he got quite a bit of screen time in the anime as compared to the other family members – therefore I've got to work extra hard with the characters who had minimal/no role.   


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**M I S C E L L A N E O U S**

Wow - my very first flame. **Unsigned Yumiko1** - I humbly thank you for adding to the 'quality' of my fic with your posts. Does that mean if I remove your flame, I'm thereby **reducing **the quality of my fic? Or if you get your friends along to flame me, are they thereby **adding **to the quality of my fic? I must say that I'm surprised: I've never heard of the concept before. Perhaps you're confusing **popularity** with **quality**? Because I could never really care less about popularity if that's what you're really concerned about (I'm touched that you care). On the other hand, if you would actually **read** my fic **first** and then say where I didn't do so well would be more useful since I am trying to fix the story up. But given that you can't even tell the difference between popularity and quality, I don't think you're able to sit through the twenty some chapters of this fic. Perhaps there are a lot of people like you around who cannot appreciate a fic which doesn't center of Killua being paired with an OC or Killua being told how cute and handsome he is by screaming fangirls, or just angsty Killua fics --> like their lack of reviews for my fic is such an amazing loss for me. 

Gee...I thought flames were supposed to hurt and be discouraging. This...was just piss weak and provided me with plenty of ammunition for a counter-attack?   
  



	30. Last Ramblings and Acknowledgements

  


**A U T H O R ' S L A S T R A M B L I N G S**   
**A N D A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S** ****

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Hmm... where to begin? First, let me say a big thank you to the readers who stuck by with the fic throughout the entire year that it took to finish it. I know that this type of fic is not everyone's cup of tea, just as Simon R Green, although New York Bestseller, still registers a blank in the minds of many fantasy readers. Heck, I mean, who in the right mind likes to read about an epic that contains heavy elements of nationalism, patriotism, violence and Stalinist communist propaganda? Why can't you write humorous and happy novels like everyone else? If you wrote like nikki or Cherrie or lynlyn, and on topics that **people can relate to**, then perhaps more people would know about this story even though you started it in late 2002. Unfortunately, due to circumstances in real life, I haven't felt happy or humorous for a long time and my mind cluttered with twisted thoughts and ideas which ultimately become translated into themes of my stories (like **Hunter Works **is heading down a better track!) - so things such as violence, death, war, duty, honour - I think that's just my element. Incidentally, that's where I want to make my first acknowledgement: 

The first acknowledgement is also a tribute to my high school lessons on Russian history - the 1917 revolution, the Civil War between the Reds and the Whites, but most importantly, my Extended Essay that I did on the **Battle of Stalingrad** - the battle that turned the tide of history. As much as the American allied forces would like to pat themselves on the back and congratulate themselves for the job of saving Europe, I would just like to make some space and point out that: The Soviet Union killed off bloody two thirds of the Nazi elite! France capitulated in six weeks of battle, England is hard to invade because it's an island - Russia spent the lives of twenty million people to drive out Nazis and lost millions of acres of farmland that they had to scorch as they continuously retreated in the first stages of war. The Decade Long War in my fic is centered roughly around the Russia's circumstances during WWII as well as the devastating human loss suffered. Urgh...the ranting. Anyhow, if you have read Rudy's long and rambling speeches (much like my own really), you'll realize that it is all very Romantic. I know, people don't actually think that kind of stuff when they're in the middle of the battlefield, but as a leader, Rudy produced a lot of that wonderfully Romantic propaganda highly reminiscent to the ones I stumbled across in my research on the Battle of Stalingrad. If anyone's interested - find this book: **The Year Of Stalingrad : An Historical Record Of A Study Of Russian Mentality, Methods And Policies **by **Alexander Werth**, a journalist during WWII who published this book about a year after the Battle of Stalingrad concluded. It includes extensive excerpts of the propaganda and other material circulating around Russia at that time and by gods, that stuff is **powerful** - really makes me want to take up a gun and join in the defence of the country. Yes, I've been brainwashed, but in my delusion, I'm an extremely happy patriot. 

The next acknowledgement therefore goes to Chinese author **Jing Yong's** novel **Lu Ding Ji** - which also runs along similar themes, except it's from the Emperor Kangxi's perspective. Kangxi, Yongzhen and Qianglong were the Qing's dynasty's strongest and finest emperors, and I think I modeled a lot of Rudy's on Kangxi. In the end of Lu Ding Ji, Kangxi was alone because politics, duty and necessity didn't allow him to have any. Xiao Bao knew that accompanying the Emperor was like sharing the same bed with a tiger - you never know when it'll hurt you, but you know that it will. Much the same with Rudy and Illumi...perhaps. Kangxi ordered his men to kill a lot of Xiao Bao's friends - who weren't necessarily villains. They were just loyal to the Ming dynasty and Kangxi did what he had to do to stabilize Qing reign in order to prevent another civil war. Civil wars in China never fails to knock off a few million people and displace a couple more. So whilst Kangxi did what he had to, he was also killing off people who were Xiao Bao's friends. Ah, more's the tragedy, but when you're an Emperor, perhaps duty comes before your own friendship. 

And this leads nicely onto my tribute to Simon R Green's books. The characters are always ranting on about duty and honour, loyalty to the throne, sacrificing your life for duty rather than being free to do what you want. Again, that's another strong streak in Rudy, but it's also more intergrated with the above idea as well. Anyhow, it's just Green's style of writing is so fluid and fast paced that I think I'm hooked onto all his books and have read them over three times at least. Anyhow, he was mainly the inspiration for giving Alluka those ESP abilities and those juicy descriptions of blood and violence. Cheers sir, I salute thee! 

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**P R O F I L E S O F T H E O R I G I N A L C H A R A C T E R S**

Well, I think there are as many as ten original characters in this fic. I'll be posting up their process of creation after I've finished editing all the chapters. Keep a lookout for updates on this page then! 


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